President Donald Trump's wrangling on the world stage over Russia's invasion of Ukraine is pitting two of his administration's most prominent figures — and potential successors — against each other under the guise of cooperation, Politico reported on Tuesday.
All of this comes as Trump's summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska resulted in no tangible steps toward peace — and as European leaders gathered at the White House at the start of the week to effectively stage an intervention in favor of America's continued defense of Ukraine and NATO.
Things came to a head with Trump's innocuous-sounding post to his Truth Social platform on Monday evening, where he stated, “Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”
Vance and Rubio, both often floated as successors to the MAGA mantle once Trump steps down, may have different fates in this discussion, however.
“That’s the first time JD and Marco have been dragged into a big foreign policy issue together,” one White House insider told Politico. “If it’s JD and Marco and Witkoff, who gets the credit and who gets the blame if it fails? This could be the first test of 2028.”
Trump had repeatedly boasted on the campaign trail that he could solve the Russian invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. Instead, his efforts to bring Putin to the negotiating table have dragged on for months, with the president growing increasingly frustrated with the Russian leader he has long admired.
In recent weeks, he threatened new economic attacks on Russia's trading partners if a ceasefire isn't swiftly declared, but after his meeting with Putin, he appeared to soften his stance.
