Trump reports a 'very productive call' with Putin before engaging with Zelenskyy in Florida
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
The coverage treats Trump’s call with Putin as a kind of moral lapse, as if talking is the same as conceding. That framing mistakes diplomacy for endorsement and ignores a basic fact of statecraft: wars end when leaders speak, not when commentators score points. What’s missing is the conservative concern for **national security realism**.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin before sitting down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida. Trump posted on social media Sunday that he and Putin had a “good and very productive telephone call." The U.S.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The coverage treats Trump’s call with Putin as a kind of moral lapse, as if talking is the same as conceding. That framing mistakes diplomacy for endorsement and ignores a basic fact of statecraft: wars end when leaders speak, not when commentators score points.
What’s missing is the conservative concern for national security realism. If the United States wants leverage, it has to know what Russia is willing to do and what it is not. A conversation before meeting Zelenskyy can be strategic sequencing, not betrayal, especially if it clarifies red lines and reduces miscalculation.
The test is America’s interests first, backed by credible deterrence and public trust through transparency. Any deal must protect Ukrainian sovereignty without writing blank checks or drifting into open-ended commitments.
In the end, the principle is peace through strength and accountability, not performative outrage over who picked up the phone first.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.