New York Times columnist Masha Gessen thinks President Trump has made a mistake in inviting Vladimir Putin to Alaska. "The moment Putin walks into the negotiating room, he has gotten everything he wants," he wrote in a piece earlier this week. "If the meeting does not produce an agreement, Putin loses nothing. Trump, on the other hand, would lose face if he walked out empty-handed. He may be motivated to accept something, anything." In a subsequent interview with NPR about Friday's summit, Gessen said the world can bank on Putin making a particular joke, but one infused with meaning.
- "The one prediction that I will absolutely make" is that Putin will reference that Alaska once belonged to Russia. "He's going to make a quip about how Alaska either was—or he might say it is still—Russia."
Elaborating, Gessen said the idea that Alaska should return to Russian hands is very much "alive" throughout the country. "There are billboards in various parts of Russia that paint Alaska the colors of the Russian flag and say, 'Give it back.'" In Gessen's view, the choice of location is another victory for the Russian leader.