Let's talk about Trump’s envoy advising the Kremlin....
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What is the alleged Trump envoy‑to‑Kremlin phone call about?
Well, howdy there internet people it spell again. So today we're going to talk about Trump's envoy advising the Kremlin. A transcript of a phone call published by Bloomberg reportedly showed Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, coaching Russian counterparts on how to get a good reaction from Trump. That's a polite way of saying it. Some have described it as Trump's envoy telling the Russians how to manipulate Trump. So far, the White House has not disputed the transcript. The reporting says the transcript is of an october fourteenth call between Steve Witkoff and Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushikov.
How did Steve Witkoff supposedly coach Russian officials on flattering Trump?
Wick off said quote Here's what I think would be amazing. Maybe he says to President Trump, you know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar twenty point plan to peace, and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit. We're open to those sorts of things. He reportedly advised them to congratulate Trump on his peacemaking skills and quote. From that, it's going to be a really good call. Reminder.
Why do foreign‑policy experts say the advice was ‘out of line’ but not criminal?
Witkoff works for the US and is at least in theory supposed to represent the president, who is, in theory, supposed to represent the interests of the United States, not competitor nations. One might be forgiven for taking that to be This is how you butter up the old man to get what you want. This definitely provides an explanation as to why the deal appeared to have Russia's fingerprints all over it. It's worth noting that some of the foreign policy experts we talked to said this wasn't ideal, but that sometimes when parties are intractable, their advisors take things a bit too far in trying to grease the wheels of a meeting. It was described as quote out of line and insulting to Trump. But not criminal.
But that's from one of our more pragmatic foreign policy experts.
What did Republican Rep. Don Bacon say about Witkoff’s role in the Ukraine plan?
Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska was not as kind or forgiving. Speaking of Witkoff, he said He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations because Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired, and Yeah, that's a Republican member of the House who was very upset about the Ukraine surrender plan, calling out the president's advisors in a pretty insulting way. Bacon is said to have considered resigning in protest over Trump's attempt to get Ukraine to surrender and the abandonment of US security interests in Europe.
How might this controversy affect Witkoff’s standing with U.S. allies and the Kremlin?
In a normal timeline, this would probably lead to dismissal. But it's Trump world. So unless Trump realizes that his team might be advising people to flatter him to get what they want, this will probably be a nothing burger in effect on the domestic side of things. However, internationally, there's a high probability that Wickkoff is, for lack of a better term, burned. Allies will probably be less likely to speak frankly with him and more likely to feed him what they would like repeated to the Kremlin. Anyway. It's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the alleged Trump envoy‑to‑Kremlin phone call about?
0:01–0:48
2
How did Steve Witkoff supposedly coach Russian officials on flattering Trump?
0:48–1:21
3
Why do foreign‑policy experts say the advice was ‘out of line’ but not criminal?
1:21–2:21
4
What did Republican Rep. Don Bacon say about Witkoff’s role in the Ukraine plan?
2:21–3:05
5
How might this controversy affect Witkoff’s standing with U.S. allies and the Kremlin?
3:05–3:46
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Belle of the Ranch
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