We begin today’s roundup with Aaron Blake’s analysis of the weakness of Donald Trump:
For the third time this week, President Trump has been forced to walk back something he said about Russia. First it was comparing his own intelligence community's credibility to Vladimir Putin's. Then it was his statement that Russia wasn't still interfering in U.S. elections. And now it's his apparent plan to allow Russia to interview Americans it accuses of crimes, including a former ambassador.
It was all one giant, self-inflicted wound. And it all did precisely what Putin hopes and what Trump seems to fear most: made Trump look weak and ineffectual.
Philip Gordon, from the Council on Foreign Relations, and Ivo H. Daalder, former NATO ambassador and current president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, give their expert analysis of Trump’s foreign policy weakness:
Trump’s attacks on nato allies and his questioning of the principle of collective defense are even more damaging in the wake of the Helsinki summit, during which he showed himself to be shockingly deferential to Russia and Putin. While his statements on Moscow’s election interference got the most press, his inability to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, bombing in Syria, and poisoning of people on British soil were at least as noteworthy. If the U.S. president is afraid of stressing differences with Russia at a press conference, could allies ever count on him to confront Russia on a potential European battlefield?