Trump 'blindsided' White House and State Department officials when he told Putin they'd meet soon: report

Donald Trump blindsided White House and State Department officials when he told Russian President Vladimir Putin he expected they would meet soon, the Washington Post reports.

Multiple officials told the Post there are no plans for a meeting between the two world leaders, despite Trump’s assertion Tuesday he’ll "be seeing President Putin in the not-too-distant future.”

Trump’s briefing materials—which included an all-caps reminder for the president not to congratulate Putin—“did not include any reference to a meeting,” according to the Post, citing unnamed sources. As the Post notes, senior White House officials oppose a meeting between Trump and Putin.

White House officials also wrestled with whether or not to include information about Trump's congratulatory message for Putin in a readout of their call. The administration's hand was forced when the Kremlin put out its own statement indicate Trump applauded the Russian president.