NBC Host Calls Karoline Leavitt's 'Ashen' Look Unforgettable

A Deflating Summit: The Trump-Putin Meeting in Anchorage

The recent summit between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage has left many observers, including NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander, with a sense of disappointment. Alexander highlighted the emotional reactions of the American delegation during the closed-door talks, which were aimed at addressing Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Reporting from Anchorage on Friday, Alexander spoke with MSNBC host Jen Psaki about the atmosphere during the meeting. He noted that the mood among Trump's team appeared to be one of deflation after the discussions failed to yield any significant progress toward a ceasefire. “What struck me, Jen, in particular, was really just the looks on the faces of the American delegation here,” Alexander said, specifically mentioning Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Leavitt, according to Alexander, seemed visibly stressed and anxious, with wide eyes and an ashen complexion at times. These images, he said, would remain with him as the event concluded. The Daily Beast has since reached out to the White House for further comment on the situation.

Behind Closed Doors: What Was Expected and What Wasn't

Alexander pointed out that, behind closed doors with Putin, it appeared that Trump did not achieve the outcomes he had previously claimed to seek. This sentiment was echoed by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, an Obama appointee, who suggested that the shaken appearance of Trump administration members indicated that the meeting may have been more of a disaster than publicly acknowledged.

Trump himself admitted during a joint presser following the three-hour meeting that the U.S. and Russia "didn’t get there" on the peace deal he had been advocating for. Putin, who was given the opportunity to speak first at the presser, emphasized the need to address what he described as the "primary root causes" of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A Surprising Turn of Events

Alexander found it surprising that Trump allowed Putin to speak first during the press conference. He also noted that the summit, which did not include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, ended more than an hour earlier than planned. “Even by the standards they set, things ended abruptly, quickly here,” Alexander told Psaki, who previously served as White House press secretary under former President Joe Biden.

Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, was welcomed in Alaska with a "red carpet photo op" and even a ride in Trump’s presidential limousine. Despite months of threats, no new sanctions were imposed on Russia, and Trump’s long-sought ceasefire deal remained unfulfilled.

A Pariah Returns Home

Alexander concluded that, in effect, Putin left the meeting as a pariah on the world stage but returned home with the ability to claim he was now a partner with America, the largest superpower. “He got, in effect, everything he wanted from this moment,” Alexander said.

Trump’s Reaction and the Media Landscape

Following the summit, Trump began his Sunday with a series of furious posts on Truth Social, criticizing the media coverage of the event. “It’s incredible how the Fake News violently distorts the TRUTH when it comes to me,” he posted. “There is NOTHING I can say or do that would lead them to write or report honestly about me. I had a great meeting in Alaska on Biden’s stupid War, a war that should have never happened!!!”