begin quote from:
Psaki: Putin set a trap and Trump fell in
Putin set a trap and Trump fell into it
Story highlights
- Jen Psaki says a lack of preparation by the US gave Russia an easy victory
- On paper, Putin should not have had the upper hand going into the meeting, she writes
Jen Psaki, a CNN political commentator and spring fellow at the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service, was the White House communications director and State Department spokeswoman during the Obama administration. She also was a consultant for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Follow her: @jrpsaki. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers.
(CNN)The Russians just played the President. It was predictable. And he let it happen.
On paper, Vladimir Putin should not have had the upper hand going into the meeting.
To
start with, Russia has been living with sanctions put in place more
than three years ago because of their annexation of Crimea.
And
most Americans, save a few people including the President of the United
States, are confident that Putin led the Russian intervention into the
American election and into many other elections around the world.
Jen Psaki
President
Obama booted out nearly three dozen spies in December and closed two
compounds, and there are many, from both parties, calling for an
additional round of sanctions on Russia.
We should have had some leverage. So what happened?
To start with, the Russians are skilled public manipulators.
When
I was at the State Department, the country that was easiest for our
team to work with on logistics -- whether it was access to the press, or
when to do statements or take questions -- were the Russians. They
understand, better than most, the importance of the public side of
diplomacy. It made planning easy, but it also required on-the-fly
adjustments to make sure that the Russians didn't read out meetings or
characterize conversations without the perspective of the United States.
And they still got the best of us from time to time.
They
know how to stage-manage and how to set the expectations for global
events. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is a smooth operator who knows
how to charm cameras and international audiences. He is visible at
international events and followed by a gaggle of adoring state-run
media. He also rarely shies away from answering questions, holding press
conferences, or reading out meetings. He has been on the international
scene as foreign minister for 13 years, and as the UN ambassador for 10
years before that, and it shows.
Putin may have less of a warm diplomatic bedside manner, but he understands the art of presentation and how to set a trap.
And set a trap is exactly what he just did.
The
Russians telegraphed in advance of the meeting that their agenda was to
1) publicly mend the relationship, 2) gain a better understanding of US
policy, and 3) discuss joint concerns over terrorism. They scored on
all three.
Their previewing kept expectations low and made clear that there simply would not be enough time to talk about Ukraine.
And how did the United States preview the meeting and set the table for the most important diplomatic engagement this summer?
Coons: Trump raising election meddling with Putin 'long overdue' 03:16
Just yesterday, President Donald Trump questioned the validity of American intelligence on foreign soil and then questioned whether other countries or actors were involved in the hacking.
But before that, H.R. McMaster, the President's national security adviser, previewed the meeting with President Putin by saying there was "no specific agenda -- it's really going to be whatever the President wants to talk about."
The
problem is that the expectation-setting and previewing of important
diplomatic meetings does more than just fill wire reports and cable air
time. It sends the message about what the United States expects to
accomplish, how prepared we are for the engagement and also puts the
difficult topics on the table that are the core purpose of these
meetings.
We did a background
briefing with policy experts in advance of nearly every trip Secretary
John Kerry did when I was at the State Department. These briefings were
often on the plane late at night or early in the morning, sometimes at
Andrews Air Force Base and even on the ground. They were demanded by the
press corps, but also benefitted the United States because they allowed
us to set the table for our engagements.
Things Trump has said about Putin 01:27
Immediately following the meeting, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
appeared on television making clear that President Trump had repeatedly
raised Russian meddling in the meeting. That sounded like a positive
development until he said President Trump has decided to focus on "how
do we move forward from something that may be an intractable
disagreement at this point."
This statement was quickly followed by Foreign Minister Lavrov appearing on television to say that President Putin had denied involvement, Trump said reports of meddling were exaggerated and he accepted Putin's denials.
Leading American intelligence agencies,
Republicans and Democrats in Congress and many members of his own
administration are confident that the Russians intervened in the
American election last year. But a simple assurance from President Putin
overrides that.
You don't get a
lot of shots at pressure in diplomacy. And after you've let your
adversary off the hook, you certainly don't get to apply that pressure
again. As far as the Russians are concerned, the public case is closed.
The
problem is that the free public pass doesn't make it harder for
Russians to proceed with their ongoing efforts to intervene in American
democracy, to create confusion and disarray in our system.
And there are ample opportunities.
There are two governor's elections this November, and an additional 36 in 2018. There are 34 Senate seats up in 2018 and every single seat in the House of Representatives. Not to mention that just last year, the Russians potentially hacked into 21 states' electoral systems.
And
instead of presenting evidence during his meeting with President Putin
and making clear that he would stand with Democrats and Republicans and
the leading intelligence agencies, Trump accepted the assurances of
Putin all while smiling in front of the cameras. And the Russians have
photos -- that they are already expertly spreading around the Internet
-- to prove it.
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