Overview

• MSNBC host Antonia Hilton cited reports that press corps members saw aides like Karoline Leavitt appear “ashen, almost frightened” following closed-door talks between Presidents Trump and Putin.
• Michael McFaul asserted the meeting was “a bigger disaster than they’re leading on” and said the White House has not tried to spin its results.
• McFaul noted he could not identify any tangible deliverables from Trump’s engagement with Putin for the American public.
• He contrasted his role as a senior administration official briefing journalists after high-level meetings with the current team’s lack of proactive press outreach.
• No on-the-record comment from Karoline Leavitt or an official White House rebuttal has emerged, leaving expert criticism to define the post-summit narrative.