At home, Trump gets panned for 'surrendering' to Putin

TOI correspondent from Washington: Absent a formal agreement, statements or read-outs, analysts unpacked everything from choreography of the arrival to body language at the meeting to read the tea leaves, with the broad consensus being Putin conceded nothing while overcoming his pariah status in the west with a meeting on American territory.

Some critics described Trump's effort as "low energy," recalling his warning that he would walk out if the talks if Putin was not conciliatory and his claim that he would know within two minutes of meeting if the Russian leader was ready to make a deal. But after nearly three hours of talks, Putin appeared to have engaged the realtor-turned-President as salesman or messenger for relaying his terms to EU leaders and Zelensky, while tacitly making his way back to the global mainstream.

Trump repeatedly referred to Putin as "Vladimir" and exuded friendly vibes -- even deference -- towards the Russian leader, in contrast to the intimidation he subjects many other leaders to.Putin too cosied up to Trump, endorsing the US President's claim that there would have been no war if he (Trump), rather than Biden, had won a second term in 2020. When Trump suggested that they will probably be seeing each other again very soon, the Russian leader quickly interjected with "Next time in Moscow."

Trump: "I'll get a little heat on that one... but I could see it possibly happening."Earlier, Trump warmly welcomed Putin at the Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB), clapping as the Russia leader alighted from his plane and walked a red carpet that looked as if it had been retrieved from a thrift store and rolled out. Putin, who has a black belt in judo, held firm as Trump, who towered several inches above him, rolled out his "yank shake." It was the Russian leader's first formal visit to the US since 2007 -- not counting a trip to the United Nations in 2015 -- and it effectively ended his isolation in the west. Putin has visited India half a dozen times in the same period, including as state guest for India's Republic Day in 2007, and three visits tied to the annual Russia-India summit.While MAGA partisans saw Trump's glad-handling, a flypast by a B-2 stealth bomber flanked by four F-35s, and a line-up of F-22 Raptors on the tarmac as "power moves" and "epic flex" by the US President, critics saw it as a sign of undeserving respect for the visiting dignitary.

Both leaders looked up to the sky to see the timed fly-past with Trump trying to say something to Putin over the roar of the jets before they took the Presidential limousine nicknamed the "Beast" for talks that extended longer than anticipated given lack of clear outcome.

Critics, mostly on the Democratic/Moderate/Liberal spectrum, excoriated Trump for "folding" before the Russian leader, saying the meeting was high on optics but low on substance, and it would eventually result in throwing Ukraine under the bus. But many MAGA faithful argued that there was no compelling reason the US has to carry the burden of European insecurity and treat Russia, an Arctic neighbor, as an enemy, and concessions by Ukraine and EU was inevitable if there has to be peace.