Michael McFaul: Trump’s Red Carpet & Putin’s Middle Finger

John welcomes Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, back to the show to discuss the past week’s flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. McFaul analyzes the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska; the subsequent visit of Volodymyr Zelensky and a phalanx of European leaders to the White House; the signals emanating from Russia that Putin’s maximalist war aims remain unchanged; and the grim options facing Zelensky if the spate of summitry, as seems increasingly likely, results in nothing more than a return to the status quo ante.