President Trump made new demands for peace between Russia and Ukraine as he touched down in Alaska at 2:20 p.m. Eastern on Friday for a historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he’s prepared to walk away from the negotiating table if he doesn’t believe Putin is open to a deal that would end the three-year war.
“I think it’s going to work out very well — and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast,” Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier aboard Air Force One.
“If it doesn’t, you walk?” Baier asked.
“I would walk, yeah,” Trump said
The president also drew a red line with Putin, who brought along several businesspeople on the trip.
“They’re not doing business until the war is settled,” Trump said.
And Trump put European leaders at ease, announcing that he has no intention of discussing potential concessions on Ukraine’s behalf.
“I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine,”Trump said.
Over the course of the trip from Washington to Anchorage, the previously planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin expanded and will now be a three-on-three meeting. Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump arrived with a big crew that includes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and others.
Putin’s plane landed a half-hour after Trump’s. The Russian president endeavored on his own side quests while making the trip from Moscow to Anchorage.
Putin participated in a wreath-laying ceremony in Eastern Russia at a monument dedicated to Soviet and American pilots who cooperated during World War II. He also met with local hockey players.
Trump and Putin deplaned at 3:08 p.m. Eastern time. They walked down the red carpets between fighter jets to shake hands.
Trump arrived first, clapping as Putin approached.
The leaders exchanged greetings, then walked to a riser, as a military fly-over was conducted overhead. They shook hands again and stepped off the riser.
They rode together in the Beast — the presidential limo — to the summit location.
A Kremlin spokesman said the summit, which will include an expanded bilateral meeting with additional Russian and American officials, could last six to seven hours.
Trump and Putin are expected to conduct a press conference afterwards.
BACK IN KYIV…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is the odd man out on Friday, having not been invited to the bilateral summit.
Trump has said he hopes a trilateral meeting between himself, Putin and Zelensky will come together quickly after Friday’s meeting.
Back in Kyiv, Zelensky told a small group of reporters, including NewsNation’s Robert Sherman, that the summit will benefit Putin more than anyone, arguing that the Russian leader will be bolstered at home for appearing on equal footing with the U.S. president.
“What [Putin] is seeking frankly, is photographs,” Zelensky said. “He needs a photo from a meeting with President Trump.”
“First, he will be meeting on U.S. soil, which I believe is his personal victory,” Zelensky added. “Second, he is coming out of isolation … third, with this meeting, he has somehow postponed the sanctions policy. President Trump has serious sanctions. We will see what happens next.”
Ukraine on Thursday launched drone attacks on cities in southern Russia, killing one person and injuring at least 16 more.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) accused Zelensky of seeking to “sabotage” the peace talks with the military offensive.
“Zelensky doesn’t want peace and obviously is trying to sabotage President Trump’s heroic efforts to end the war in Ukraine,” Greene posted on X.
Russian forces have been carrying out their own airstrikes across Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions.
“There is not only no order but also no signals from Moscow about preparing to end this war,” Zelensky said. “On the day of negotiations, they are also killing. And that says a lot.”
MORE ADMINISTRATION NEWS
•A federal appeals court panel overturned a judge’s block on the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, paving the way for mass layoffs to resume. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor says that by the end of 2025, the Trump administration will have shed around 300,000 workers.
• Trump says he’s open to following through on former President Biden’s push to reschedule marijuana, a move that comes up short of legalization but would still provide a major boost for the cannabis industry.
•PBS is cutting its budget by more than 20 percent after Congress eliminated roughly $500 million in federal funding from public TV and radio.
• U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagherblocked two memos issued by the Trump administration that threatened schools with funding cuts for diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
💡Perspectives:
•The Hill: The meeting in Alaska is already a success for Vladimir Putin.
• New York Times: Putin should be careful what he wishes for.
• CNN: How Trump and Putin’s relationship has evolved.
• Washington Post: How Putin will seek to sway Trump at Alaska summit.
• The Telegraph: The most dangerous moment of the war for Zelensky.
Retail sales rose a solid 0.5 percent last month and June spending was stronger than expected, according to a new Commerce Department report.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said on Friday that he is not running for president in 2028, denying speculation amid attacks from right-wing activist Laura Loomer.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) gaveled in the start of a second special session Friday afternoon, saying he expected there to be enough lawmakers present Monday for the GOP to vote on its new gerrymandered maps.
“I have been told, and I expect that we will reestablish quorum on Monday,” Burrows said. “Although I have not seen any public statements directly from those who are not here, that seems to be what people have the expectation of.”
Texas Democrats fled the state almost two weeks ago to deny a quorum and delay a vote on the new maps, which could help Republicans win an additional five House seats in next year’s midterm elections.
However, the missing Democrats signaled they’re ready to return if a second special session is called and if California moves ahead with its own redistricting efforts.
The first Texas special session ended Friday, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) immediately gaveled in a second special session. The missing Democrats are being fined $500 a day, and Abbott has promised to keep calling new special sessions until enough Democrats return to the state to allow for a vote on the new maps.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) this week launched his own campaign to redraw the Golden State’s maps, satisfying the second demand from Texas Democrats.
At least one Texas Democrat that fled the state announced she’d return for the new special session.
“I am proud of what we accomplished,” state Rep. Ann Johnson (D) said in a statement. “We ended a session that had nothing to do with helping Texans and everything to do with silencing them. And we exposed the truth behind the Governor’s political agenda: to hijack the maps, erase opposition, and decide the next election before a single vote is cast. Now, with that session behind us, I’m returning to Texas to continue the fight — from the floor of the House.”
MEANWHILE…
California legislators are expected to release their proposed gerrymandered maps soon to counter the Texas GOP’s moves.
Still, a poll released this week indicates Newsom has his work cut out for him to sell voters on the idea of circumventing the independent redistricting commission, which at the moment has sole authority to draw the state’s maps.
“Trump’s election rigging comes to an end now,” Newsom posted on X. “California won’t stand by and watch Trump burn it all down — we are calling a special election to redraw our Congressional maps and defend fair representation. This is a five alarm fire for Democracy. Vote YES November 4.”
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has been a vocal opponent of California’s redistricting efforts, teasing a fight with Newsom over social media Friday.
“The Democrats don’t want to stop [with California], pressing party leaders in Illinois, New York and even Maryland to take a page from Newsom’s playbook to help the party flip control of the House — and establish a check on President Trump — in next year’s elections.”
DC attorney general sues Trump over police takeover
Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) suedPresident Trump on Friday, seeking to end the federal takeover of the District’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The 33-page lawsuit alleges that Trump exceeded his emergency authorities by appointing Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Administrator Terry Cole as temporary police commissioner.
The lawsuit seeks to reinstall Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and Police Chief Pamela Smith at the head of the MPD.
“There is no greater risk to public safety in a large, professional police force like MPD than to not know who is in command,” the lawsuit reads.
The federal takeover of the MPD can only last for 30 days, at which point Congress would have to vote to authorize an extension.
In addition to taking over the MPD, Trump dispatched more than 800 National Guard troops to join agents from other federal departments in patrolling the nation’s capital to crack down on crime.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday that federal authorities made 18 additional arrests Thursday night.
“We’re now over 120 arrests since President Trump’s initiative began,” Patel said. “The good cops are getting the job done.”
The raids are also targeting homeless encampments, clearing them off of federal property.
In addition, Attorney General Pam Bondiordered the end to a number of Washington, D.C., policing policies on immigration, declaring “DC’s sanctuary policies no longer apply.”
Bondi said the MPD would begin cooperating with federal authorities on immigration matters, although the local police force will not be allowed to make arrests based solely on a person’s immigration status.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said the administration is not asking MPD officers to directly enforce immigration laws, which are the responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
“Law enforcement needs to work with law enforcement,” Homan told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network. “We’re not asking Metro PD to be immigration officers, but when you’re enforcing criminal law and when you find an illegal alien not only in violation of immigration law here illegally but involved with criminal activity, they absolutely should call us.
Separately, Bondi said she sent letters to 32 mayors and governors of sanctuary cities, warning them “we’re going to come after you” if they don’t comply with “our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement.”
“They have, I think, a week to respond to me, so let’s see who responds and how they respond,”Bondi told a Fox News reporter.
Federal agents have been met by protests and hecklers in Washington, which is one of the most heavily concentrated regions of Democratic voters in the country.
“Donald Trump wants to impose police ice checkpoints all over D.C., and the freedom-loving people of Washington are not going to put up with that,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said on MSNBC’s “All In.”
“The whole thing is absurd, and he wants to use it as the basis for taking these police state tactics across the country and the people of America,” Raskin added. “The majority is not going to stand for it.”
Bowser, the Democratic mayor, was briefly under fire Thursday when it was revealed she’d left town for Martha’s Vineyard.
Bowser explained over social media that she was picking her 7-year old daughter up from camp, saying she’d return Friday.
The mayor said she canceled a previously scheduled family vacation “to lead our city’s crisis management efforts.”
“I am in constant contact with my senior team and have been in constant consultation with our partners throughout a short swing out of the District,”Bowser said.
💡Perspectives:
•MSNBC: Trump exerts control over Kennedy Center Honors.
• City Journal: Trump is right to send National Guard to Washington.
