What should Trump say when he meets Putin?
(Baonghean.vn) - According to an advisor to former US President Ronald Reagan, US President Donald Trump must be firm, not friendly, when meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on July 16.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. Photo: AP |
Trump and Putin will hold their first bilateral summit in Helsinki, Finland, and will have a one-on-one meeting lasting approximately 90 minutes, without the presence of aides. The meeting comes just days after special prosecutor Robert Mueller accused 12 Russian intelligence officers of hacking computer systems during the 2016 US election.
According to Mark Weinberg, a former adviser in the Reagan administration, Trump must be extremely careful in the first few moments to signal that Russia's actions "will not be tolerated."
"From the standpoint of an opening speech, the President of the United States should speak first and know exactly what he is about to say," Weinberg wrote on Fox News.
According to Weinberg, Option 1 is for Trump to tell Putin: “We meet at a crucial time. I don’t like what your country is trying to do to ours. We have a lot to discuss. Let’s get started.”
Option 2, as outlined by this former advisor, is for Trump to say: “Mr. President, there are people in my country who don’t want this meeting to happen. But there are some deeply troubling issues between us that cannot be ignored.”
Weinberg noted that Trump should address Putin as "Mr. President" rather than the more friendly "Vladimir," even though Putin has stated that the two leaders usually address each other by their last names. Weinberg also suggested that Trump should keep the handshake brief, maintain a serious expression, and absolutely refrain from patting Putin on the back.
Weinberg was involved in planning five meetings between former US President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but he admitted that his team overlooked the importance of those brief initial moments and failed to advise the American leader on what to say or do, thus giving the Soviet leader the upper hand.
“As usual, Reagan was polite and let Gorbachev speak first, and as a result, Gorbachev, with his charisma and understanding of the media, won the public relations (PR) battle. Reagan eventually regained his position, but that was after a significant shake-up in the White House aides,” he wrote.
Putin and Trump have met on the sidelines of past conferences, but this is the first summit between the two leaders of Russia and the United States.