Donald Trump's antagonists have raised the alarm over the upcoming Helsinki meeting between the American and Russian presidents, comparing Trump to an “infant child” and predicting an easy victory for Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Russian policymakers are expressing cautious hope that US-Russia relations could finally improve.
The upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump on July 16 in Helsinki has already made a splash in the media.
Trump's critics jumped at the opportunity to cast doubt on the potential outcome of the summit, predicting that Putin might “outwit” the US president.
“If he is sitting across the table from Vladimir Putin, who is a highly skilled manipulator and negotiator, the chances are things could go off the rails,” CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd presumed, commenting on Trump's apparent plan to hold one-on-one talks with Putin ahead of the summit.
The American biweekly New York Magazine claimed that “Putin holds all the cards” in the expected summit, suggesting that the US president will easily fall under the Russian leader's spell. The media outlet recalled that earlier Trump had congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election “against the advice of literally everyone” and highlighted that the two “even spent an hour alone together” on the sidelines of the 2017 G20 meeting.
Speaking to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, retired US Army Lt. Col….