August 15, 2025 • 13 mins
This Briefing covers the high-stakes summit between President Trump and President Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, focusing on the potential for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Jon Decker explores the dynamics of one-on-one meetings, the expectations set by European leaders, and the consequences of a failed meeting. He also discusses what success looks like for both leaders and the implications of future meetings. Listen and Subscribe to the White House Briefing Room with Jon Decker on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Friday, All
gets the fifteenth. I'm John Decker in Anchorage, Alaska, site
of the high stake summit today between President Trump and
Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Trump heads into Friday's summit
with the goal of getting Russia to agree to a ceasefire.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We're going to see what happens with our media. We
have a big meeting. It's going to be, I think,
very important for Russia, and it's going to be very
important for us, and important for us only that we're
going to save.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
A lot of lives. President Trump has acknowledged that getting
Putin to agree to wind down the war in Ukraine
won't be easy, but the President has expressed optimism that
he can twist Putin's arm and the arm of Ukrainian
President Vladimir Zelenski.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I think President Putin will make peace. I think President
Zelenski will make peace. We'll see if they can get along.
End of the canada'll be great.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
We begin right here in Anchorage, Alaska. I arrived in
Alaska Wednesday night. President Trump and President Putin arrive late
Friday morning, and once they get here, they'll get down
to business meeting one on one at Joint Base Elmandor Richardson.
That's a huge military base on the outskirts of Anchorage. Now,
(01:26):
four years ago, the last time that President Putin met
an American president, it was with President Biden. It was
in Geneva, Switzerland. I was at that meeting. And when
Biden met with Putin, he had his Secretary of State
Anthony Blincoln by his side. As for President Putin, he
had his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by his side, and
(01:49):
they each had an interpreter. It's going to be different
when President Trump meets with President Putin. They will be
meeting one on one aids, no members of the President's
cabinet or any other members for Putin to accompany him,
just those two leaders one on one with an interpreter.
(02:11):
And this is not the first time that President Trump
has done that. He did that the last time that
he met one on one with President Putin. That was
in Helsinki, Finland, in the president's first term in office. Now,
as it relates to this upcoming meeting, over the weeks
leading up to this one on one meeting here in Alaska,
(02:32):
the President has expressed frustration sometimes anger, anger at President Putin,
because the President has had five phone conversations with President
Putin since he took office in January, and the President
talks about these conversations as being very good conversations. He
(02:53):
thinks that he's moved the ball forward, perhaps getting to
the point of moving forward in terms of peace negotiating.
But the President describes hanging up the phone after feeling
good about the conversation he just had with President Putin,
and then hours later he hears that Putin has attacked
a nursing home, or Putin has attacked a civilian area
(03:16):
in Ukraine, injuring dozens or perhaps killing dozens, and that
has angered the president. He feels disrespected. But in the
past few days, the President feels like he can get
something done. He feels as if this is moving in
the right direction in terms of getting to the point
(03:38):
of a ceasefire, and that I think is the President's
ultimate goal, getting Putin to agree to a ceasefire, not
a limited ceasefire, but a full ceasefire. And the President,
of course, five months ago put a thirty day ceasefire
proposal on the table to both Ukraine and to run
(04:00):
Ukraine accepted that ceasefire proposal right away. But here we
are five months later, and Putin continues to attack those
civilian areas on a daily basis with drone strikes, with
missile strikes, and the President is clearly frustrated. He's angry,
but he feels he can move the ball in the
(04:21):
right direction. In fact, he is already predicting a second
meeting with Putin. Let's hear what the President had to
say in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think
it's going to be a good meeting. But the more
important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having.
We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenski, myself,
and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders, will
maybe not. It's I don't know that it's going to
be very important. We're going to see what happens now.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
That certainly is optimism. Already planning for a second meeting
when the first one hasn't occurred yet. And the President
on Thursday, in a race video interview, said there's a
twenty five percent chance that this meeting with Putin goes south.
A twenty five percent chance that nothing gets accomplished, a
twenty five percent chance that he essentially walks away from
(05:14):
this meeting. And the President also indicated on Thursday that
if it is an unsuccessful meeting with President Putin, he
may not even have a press conference, or certainly not
a joint press conference, which is what is prepared on
the schedule for the President during the course of the
day on Friday. The meeting likely will last several hours
(05:37):
that is scheduled to be followed by a joint press
conference in which President Trump and President Putin would be
on the same stage at the same time talking about
their meeting and saying what was accomplished. The President says
that he will reach out after his meeting, first and
foremost to President Zelenski to read out what was discussed
(06:01):
during their talks, what was accomplished during those talks, And
then the President says he will talk with European allies
who very much want to hear how those talks went. Now,
European leaders and President Zelensky on Wednesday, with a video conference,
presented President Trump with five very distinct red lines to
(06:25):
carry into this summit in Anchorage. They say that as
these talks continue Ukraine, President Zelensky must be able to
participate in them. And they also speak of support from
both the United States and Europe, including Ukraine, for any
deal that is ultimately reached as it relates to ending
(06:47):
this war. Those are very big red lines that the
President carries into this meeting that's taking place on Friday.
The President's aware of that, and he spoke on Thursday
of taking a heart hard line against President Putin. At
the same time he says he gets along well with
President Putin. On Thursday, the President was asked a question
(07:10):
from reporters in the Oval Office about how Putin enters
this particular meeting. What does he bring to the table.
Let's listen to this question and the way the President
answers it you tomorrow, Well.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He came to our country, and I heard CNN fake
news talking about that that was a big win for him.
Normally he would say the opposite, but they said, oh,
it's a big win that he came here. Normally would
say the opposite. You know, he came here. I think
that President Putin would like to see a deal. I
think if I weren't president, he would take over all
(07:48):
of you Craig.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Now, the President did not answer that question directly, but
he's said on numerous occasions that this war, this war
that began in February of twenty twenty two after he
left office and took place under President Biden, would not
have taken place if he were in office. Let's listen
(08:10):
to the President speak about that right here.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
If I weren't president, in my opinion, he would much
rather take over all of Ukraine. But I am president
and he's not going to mess around with him.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
When the President was in the Oval Office on Thursday,
he took a number of questions, and most of the
questions did center on this upcoming summit. It is consequential.
It does impact the United States, it does impact Europe,
and it certainly impacts Ukraine. And the President was asked,
what happens if no ceasefire is reached? Is that considered
(08:48):
to be a failure. Let's listen to the way this
particular question was asked, and the President's answer to that
question is anything less than an unconditional immediate seasfire of
victory forward.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
The U ask tomorrow, well, tomorrow, we'll see, I say,
you know, I don't know where that comes from sort
of not a good question. I would say that tomorrow,
all I want to do is set the table for
the next meeting, which shouldn't happen shortly. I'd like to
see it happen very quickly, very shortly after this meeting.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
The President is by nature an optimist, and I don't
think he is a person who likes to admit failure.
And to a certain extent, that is a strength in
some individuals, the idea that you can move forward even
if failure is thrust upon you. For the President, he
realizes that this is a meeting that is being watched
(09:40):
by the entire world. He doesn't want to walk away
without anything in terms of deliverables, and that's why this
meeting is so important. He has said that during this
meeting it won't negotiate territorial issues, and I think that's true.
That would have to get accomplished in a second meeting
that may take place. He is certainly going to push
(10:02):
President Putin to a ceasefire, and we'll see whether it's
a full unconditional ceasefire or limited ceasefire that ultimately comes
out of this meeting. The President said, if there's no
ceasefire and he said this on Wednesday of this week.
There would be severe consequences for Russia. What would be
severe consequences The President has spoken about imposing those secondary
(10:26):
terriffs on any country that continues to trade with Russia,
any country that continues to purchase oil from Russia. And
the President has already pulled the trigger on that. He
did that with India, now has fifty percent teriffs on
all Indian goods that come into the US. But he
has not yet imposed this on the largest purchaser of
(10:50):
Russian oil, and that's China. That if the President were
to do, that would certainly hurt Russia economically. It would
squeeze Russia's economy. And there are those that argue, and
I agree with these people who say this is one
of the reasons why Putin requested this meeting with President Trump.
(11:11):
He is concerned about the President pulling the trigger on
those secondary tariffs. Now, what would be success for President Trump.
I think clinching a ceasefire, without a doubt, that would
be a major success that the President could tell And
he is someone who is already thinking about the other
peace initiatives that have been successful during his first seven
(11:33):
plus months in office. What would be success for President Putin. Well,
he wants relations between the United States and Russia normalized,
so he wants to talk about a lot more than
just the war in Ukraine. He wants international recognition for
what he's gained in this war now in its third
year that is very unlikely. And he wants to keep
(11:56):
President Trump in his good graces. He wants to be
someone who the President can speak well of when he
talks about President Putin. He doesn't want to be someone
who continues to frustrate the President. So a lot is
at stake as it relates to this meeting that's coming up.
As for a second meeting, the President was asked about that,
(12:19):
and the President already thinking about even where such a
second meeting would take place. Let's listen to the President here, I'd.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Like to see it actually happen, maybe in Alaska, where
we just stay because it's so much easier.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
So perhaps I'll be coming back to Anchorage, Alaska, back
for a second summit, but this one with President Zelenski.
President that would be pretty remarkable in the sense that
President Putin doesn't Seizelenski as an equal, doesn't even want
to be in the same room as Olenski, but that
is something that President Trump appears to be insisting upon
(12:53):
as he goes about preparations for this summit here in Alaska.
That's the White House Briefing Room for Friday, August fifteenth.
I look forward to talking to you on Monday in
the aftermath of this summit. What was accomplished, what wasn't accomplished.
Thanks for listening during a very busy week. I'm John
(13:14):
Dekker in Anchorage, Alaska. Have a great weekend. Talk to
you Monday.
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Friday, All
gets the fifteenth. I'm John Decker in Anchorage, Alaska, site
of the high stake summit today between President Trump and
Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Trump heads into Friday's summit
with the goal of getting Russia to agree to a ceasefire.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We're going to see what happens with our media. We
have a big meeting. It's going to be, I think,
very important for Russia, and it's going to be very
important for us, and important for us only that we're
going to save.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
A lot of lives. President Trump has acknowledged that getting
Putin to agree to wind down the war in Ukraine
won't be easy, but the President has expressed optimism that
he can twist Putin's arm and the arm of Ukrainian
President Vladimir Zelenski.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I think President Putin will make peace. I think President
Zelenski will make peace. We'll see if they can get along.
End of the canada'll be great.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
We begin right here in Anchorage, Alaska. I arrived in
Alaska Wednesday night. President Trump and President Putin arrive late
Friday morning, and once they get here, they'll get down
to business meeting one on one at Joint Base Elmandor Richardson.
That's a huge military base on the outskirts of Anchorage. Now,
(01:26):
four years ago, the last time that President Putin met
an American president, it was with President Biden. It was
in Geneva, Switzerland. I was at that meeting. And when
Biden met with Putin, he had his Secretary of State
Anthony Blincoln by his side. As for President Putin, he
had his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by his side, and
(01:49):
they each had an interpreter. It's going to be different
when President Trump meets with President Putin. They will be
meeting one on one aids, no members of the President's
cabinet or any other members for Putin to accompany him,
just those two leaders one on one with an interpreter.
(02:11):
And this is not the first time that President Trump
has done that. He did that the last time that
he met one on one with President Putin. That was
in Helsinki, Finland, in the president's first term in office. Now,
as it relates to this upcoming meeting, over the weeks
leading up to this one on one meeting here in Alaska,
(02:32):
the President has expressed frustration sometimes anger, anger at President Putin,
because the President has had five phone conversations with President
Putin since he took office in January, and the President
talks about these conversations as being very good conversations. He
(02:53):
thinks that he's moved the ball forward, perhaps getting to
the point of moving forward in terms of peace negotiating.
But the President describes hanging up the phone after feeling
good about the conversation he just had with President Putin,
and then hours later he hears that Putin has attacked
a nursing home, or Putin has attacked a civilian area
(03:16):
in Ukraine, injuring dozens or perhaps killing dozens, and that
has angered the president. He feels disrespected. But in the
past few days, the President feels like he can get
something done. He feels as if this is moving in
the right direction in terms of getting to the point
(03:38):
of a ceasefire, and that I think is the President's
ultimate goal, getting Putin to agree to a ceasefire, not
a limited ceasefire, but a full ceasefire. And the President,
of course, five months ago put a thirty day ceasefire
proposal on the table to both Ukraine and to run
(04:00):
Ukraine accepted that ceasefire proposal right away. But here we
are five months later, and Putin continues to attack those
civilian areas on a daily basis with drone strikes, with
missile strikes, and the President is clearly frustrated. He's angry,
but he feels he can move the ball in the
(04:21):
right direction. In fact, he is already predicting a second
meeting with Putin. Let's hear what the President had to
say in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think
it's going to be a good meeting. But the more
important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having.
We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenski, myself,
and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders, will
maybe not. It's I don't know that it's going to
be very important. We're going to see what happens now.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
That certainly is optimism. Already planning for a second meeting
when the first one hasn't occurred yet. And the President
on Thursday, in a race video interview, said there's a
twenty five percent chance that this meeting with Putin goes south.
A twenty five percent chance that nothing gets accomplished, a
twenty five percent chance that he essentially walks away from
(05:14):
this meeting. And the President also indicated on Thursday that
if it is an unsuccessful meeting with President Putin, he
may not even have a press conference, or certainly not
a joint press conference, which is what is prepared on
the schedule for the President during the course of the
day on Friday. The meeting likely will last several hours
(05:37):
that is scheduled to be followed by a joint press
conference in which President Trump and President Putin would be
on the same stage at the same time talking about
their meeting and saying what was accomplished. The President says
that he will reach out after his meeting, first and
foremost to President Zelenski to read out what was discussed
(06:01):
during their talks, what was accomplished during those talks, And
then the President says he will talk with European allies
who very much want to hear how those talks went. Now,
European leaders and President Zelensky on Wednesday, with a video conference,
presented President Trump with five very distinct red lines to
(06:25):
carry into this summit in Anchorage. They say that as
these talks continue Ukraine, President Zelensky must be able to
participate in them. And they also speak of support from
both the United States and Europe, including Ukraine, for any
deal that is ultimately reached as it relates to ending
(06:47):
this war. Those are very big red lines that the
President carries into this meeting that's taking place on Friday.
The President's aware of that, and he spoke on Thursday
of taking a heart hard line against President Putin. At
the same time he says he gets along well with
President Putin. On Thursday, the President was asked a question
(07:10):
from reporters in the Oval Office about how Putin enters
this particular meeting. What does he bring to the table.
Let's listen to this question and the way the President
answers it you tomorrow, Well.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He came to our country, and I heard CNN fake
news talking about that that was a big win for him.
Normally he would say the opposite, but they said, oh,
it's a big win that he came here. Normally would
say the opposite. You know, he came here. I think
that President Putin would like to see a deal. I
think if I weren't president, he would take over all
(07:48):
of you Craig.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Now, the President did not answer that question directly, but
he's said on numerous occasions that this war, this war
that began in February of twenty twenty two after he
left office and took place under President Biden, would not
have taken place if he were in office. Let's listen
(08:10):
to the President speak about that right here.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
If I weren't president, in my opinion, he would much
rather take over all of Ukraine. But I am president
and he's not going to mess around with him.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
When the President was in the Oval Office on Thursday,
he took a number of questions, and most of the
questions did center on this upcoming summit. It is consequential.
It does impact the United States, it does impact Europe,
and it certainly impacts Ukraine. And the President was asked,
what happens if no ceasefire is reached? Is that considered
(08:48):
to be a failure. Let's listen to the way this
particular question was asked, and the President's answer to that
question is anything less than an unconditional immediate seasfire of
victory forward.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
The U ask tomorrow, well, tomorrow, we'll see, I say,
you know, I don't know where that comes from sort
of not a good question. I would say that tomorrow,
all I want to do is set the table for
the next meeting, which shouldn't happen shortly. I'd like to
see it happen very quickly, very shortly after this meeting.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
The President is by nature an optimist, and I don't
think he is a person who likes to admit failure.
And to a certain extent, that is a strength in
some individuals, the idea that you can move forward even
if failure is thrust upon you. For the President, he
realizes that this is a meeting that is being watched
(09:40):
by the entire world. He doesn't want to walk away
without anything in terms of deliverables, and that's why this
meeting is so important. He has said that during this
meeting it won't negotiate territorial issues, and I think that's true.
That would have to get accomplished in a second meeting
that may take place. He is certainly going to push
(10:02):
President Putin to a ceasefire, and we'll see whether it's
a full unconditional ceasefire or limited ceasefire that ultimately comes
out of this meeting. The President said, if there's no
ceasefire and he said this on Wednesday of this week.
There would be severe consequences for Russia. What would be
severe consequences The President has spoken about imposing those secondary
(10:26):
terriffs on any country that continues to trade with Russia,
any country that continues to purchase oil from Russia. And
the President has already pulled the trigger on that. He
did that with India, now has fifty percent teriffs on
all Indian goods that come into the US. But he
has not yet imposed this on the largest purchaser of
(10:50):
Russian oil, and that's China. That if the President were
to do, that would certainly hurt Russia economically. It would
squeeze Russia's economy. And there are those that argue, and
I agree with these people who say this is one
of the reasons why Putin requested this meeting with President Trump.
(11:11):
He is concerned about the President pulling the trigger on
those secondary tariffs. Now, what would be success for President Trump.
I think clinching a ceasefire, without a doubt, that would
be a major success that the President could tell And
he is someone who is already thinking about the other
peace initiatives that have been successful during his first seven
(11:33):
plus months in office. What would be success for President Putin. Well,
he wants relations between the United States and Russia normalized,
so he wants to talk about a lot more than
just the war in Ukraine. He wants international recognition for
what he's gained in this war now in its third
year that is very unlikely. And he wants to keep
(11:56):
President Trump in his good graces. He wants to be
someone who the President can speak well of when he
talks about President Putin. He doesn't want to be someone
who continues to frustrate the President. So a lot is
at stake as it relates to this meeting that's coming up.
As for a second meeting, the President was asked about that,
(12:19):
and the President already thinking about even where such a
second meeting would take place. Let's listen to the President here, I'd.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Like to see it actually happen, maybe in Alaska, where
we just stay because it's so much easier.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
So perhaps I'll be coming back to Anchorage, Alaska, back
for a second summit, but this one with President Zelenski.
President that would be pretty remarkable in the sense that
President Putin doesn't Seizelenski as an equal, doesn't even want
to be in the same room as Olenski, but that
is something that President Trump appears to be insisting upon
(12:53):
as he goes about preparations for this summit here in Alaska.
That's the White House Briefing Room for Friday, August fifteenth.
I look forward to talking to you on Monday in
the aftermath of this summit. What was accomplished, what wasn't accomplished.
Thanks for listening during a very busy week. I'm John
(13:14):
Dekker in Anchorage, Alaska. Have a great weekend. Talk to
you Monday.
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