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

Impolitic with John Heilemann

Audacy | Puck

Politics, News

4.8 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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