If you’re confused about the aims, conduct and outcome of the summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025, you’re probably not alone.

President Donald Trump said Monday he called Russian President Vladimir Putin after holding meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, adding he “began the arrangements” for a discussion between the leaders of the two warring countries.

President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House for a high-stakes meeting as the U.S. president pushed for a deal to end Moscow's war on its neighbor. A host of European leaders joined the pair.

"They are ‘STUPID’ people, with no common sense, intelligence, or understanding," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In the first lady’s “peace letter” to Putin, she told the Russian president that “it is time” to protect children and future generations worldwide.

President Trump was caught on a hot mic saying he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reach an agreement over the war in Ukraine. “I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that?

NBC’s Kristen Welker played a clip on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” of Rubio criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Rubio suggested in the clip that the U.S. should not “cut a deal” with Putin, saying that he was a “liar.”