Summit Spin

Summit Spin

Well, that happened. America’s felonious president invited Russia’s pariah president to Alaska so they could talk about the war in Ukraine. The result: not much. The world saw Putin play Trump and Trump basking in it.

Look, it’s great that Trump is trying to end the war. But as with most of his presidential role playing, the execution is lacking. Given the ease with which he can be manipulated, Putin making off with a deed to Alaska was a legitimate concern.

So how do Republicans in Congress make lemonade out of these Alaskan lemons? As he did in the run-up to the 2016 election, Putin helped them out. He said he would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump had been president. He didn’t mention that this was because he could have just asked Trump to hand it over, but does anyone doubt it?

This means Republicans get to play one of their favorite schoolyard games: Let’s Blame Biden. And hey, why not sweeten it with a request for Trump’s newest acquisition target—a Nobel Peace Prize he so richly doesn’t deserve? After all, this is the president responsible for terminating food aid that is resulting in millions of deaths—not the most peaceful of acts.

Republicans’ biggest challenge? Doing all this with a straight face.

Sketchier

August 15, 2025