Trump Adviser Draws Ire for Saying He Takes Putin 'at His Word'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Mar 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM EDT | Updated Mar 23, 2025 at 3:42 PM EDT


U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff drew ire online for his comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin—chiefly that he would "take him at his word" as talks for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine continue in their ongoing war. Newsweek reached out to the White House by email on Sunday afternoon for comment.

Why It Matters

Witkoff has emerged as one of the main players in the Trump administration's negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, and recently traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin. Ukraine and its European backers have watched on with deepening concern over the thawing of relations between Washington and Moscow.

There are pressing questions concerning the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) eastern flank and among senior Ukrainian officials about how a Trump-brokered ceasefire deal to end the more than three years of war could come at the expense of Kyiv and endanger regional security. Russian and Ukrainian officials have met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in recent weeks to discuss the contours of a peace deal. Putin agreed on Tuesday to a limited ceasefire during a call with President Donald Trump, mainly excluding infrastructure targets, according to a Russian readout of the call.

What To Know

Witkoff sat down for two high-profile interviews that aired over the past few days—first an interview with Tucker Carlson for his podcast, and then an interview for Fox News Sunday with anchor Shannon Bream. Witkoff had already drawn some backlash for seeming to use Russian talking points to justify the argument that Ukraine may need to relinquish the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions—the first two taken at the start of the February 2022 invasion and the latter two taken subsequently during the war. All of this is subsequent to Moscow invading Crimea in 2014 and holding it to this day.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/steve-witkoff-ire-takes-vladimir-putin-word-2049307

[Walleye]

1. Great, another Putin lover in our government. Paging Joe McCarthy

He was almost right. It’s not communism that was our enemy. It’s Russia, it was and it’s still is. Our mortal enemy

[PSPS]

5. Yup. Patton was right.

[Irish_Dem]

2. Putin is the most dangerous psychopath in the world right now.

He is vicious, ruthless, and will kill anyone in his way.
Also a pathological liar.

And the US government believes him and trusts him.

[twodogsbarking]

3. Not to disagree but the description fits the orange man too.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Putin is more dangerous than Trump.

Putin is much smarter and has decades of practice in destroying people and countries.
Putin can think of ways to torture people Trump cannot even think of.

That said, Trump is the second most dangerous person the world right now.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Plus

Putin was almost "born and raised" in his government and knows the ins and outs (and that allows him to come up with ways to work around and change the processes, while he also "knows where the bodies are buried" because he put them there).

45 was never in any government job until 2017 and even then, he did nothing to learn about it and instead, "let his people handle that". I suppose that then gives him the excuse of "plausible deniability" (like we just saw with the "I didn't sign that" response regarding the "Alien Enemies Act" invocation), one of few tools he has that kept him going so far (mob boss tactic).

[Irish_Dem]

9. Exactly.

Putin has known all the levers of power for decades.
And yes where all the bodies are buried across the globe.
Blackmail and extortion are his middle names.

And yes Putin does not need any minders or helpers.
He has a treasure trove of evil experience.

[lark]

6. If you don't love Pooty, there is no place for you in this oh so corrupt regime.

Period.end.of.story.

[republianmushroom]

7. Yup, about as good as that treaty Russia signed with Ukraine in the 1990's.

Christ the whole convicted felons administration is kissing Putin's ass.

[11 Bravo]

10. The phrase "useful idiot" might have been coined specifically for Trump and his gang of obsequious toadies.

[DallasNE]

11. How Can You Believe Anything That Is Being Said?

This article stresses that the first item on the agenda is a partial ceasefire covering infrastructure. Other news releases say it is safe passage in the Black Sea, which is a high priority for Russia as it currently cannot receive arms shipments via the Black Sea from China, Iran, and North Korea. So, right off the bat, the talks are lop-sided on Russia's behalf.

When do the talks focus on the return of the 16,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia in the early days of the war?

Everything happening with the talks so far reminds me of the history of events in 1938 when Neville Chamberlain gave parts of Czechlovicia to Hitler and we all know how that turned out.