The Evolution of U.S.-Russia Relations Through Presidential Lenses

John is joined by Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, to discuss Donald Trump's efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. McFaul explains why the rare earth minerals deal between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky amounts to an act of pure extortion by America against an ostensible ally; how Vladimir Putin views the U.S. siding with Russia at the U.N. and the reopening of diplomatic channels between Washington and Moscow; the depth of Trump’s admiration for Putin and disdain for Zelensky; and the clear-eyed if mortified European reaction to all of the above. McFaul also weighs in on whether Team Trump is effectively deep-sixing America’s role as the leader of the free world—and whether the U.S. electorate is, in fact, down with that program.

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