Things Have Changed

Proposed Summit and Global Order

The commentary argues that Vladimir Putin’s proposed summit with Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would elevate Russia’s claim to great-power status and signal a U.S. break with Europe. It cites a former Russian intelligence officer’s warning that such a meeting could advance a world divided into spheres of influence, replacing the post–World War II, U.S.-led international order.

U.S. Policy and Russia

The speaker says Trump has taken several steps that benefit Moscow:

• Lifting restrictions on Russian oil sales.
• Waiving sanctions required by the Lindsey Graham Act.
• Possibly, with Elon Musk’s involvement, slowing Starlink and Starshield communications used by Ukrainian forces.

The transcript says the communications systems became inoperable during a major Russian bombardment. It also describes a social media post by Putin associate Kirill Dmitriev celebrating the United States and Russia standing together against Britain and Europe, captioned “things have changed.”

Criticism of Trump’s Approach

The commentary highlights criticism from across the political spectrum. National-security scholar Tom Nichols says Trump has abandoned the Western security order without a clear U.S. national-interest rationale. Conservative commentator and former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy argues that Trump is giving Putin “aid and comfort” and calls for Congress to hold hearings on the growing U.S.–Russia alignment.

Trump defended his decision by saying he did not want to push Russia away from peace negotiations. He minimized Russia’s support for Iran and blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries—not his own war on Iran—for high diesel prices in the United States. He also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not want to end the war.

Nichols describes Trump’s remarks as an admission of weakness toward Putin. He argues that the U.S. president is urging Congress and others not to antagonize the Russian leader, rather than warning Moscow against aiding Iran.

Congress and the Postwar Security Order

The closing argument is that the U.S. constitutional system depended on Congress—especially senators—checking presidential overreach. The speaker says the framers did not anticipate senators putting party loyalty ahead of institutional power and allowing a president to take over congressional prerogatives.

She finds it especially striking that Republicans who long praised Ronald Reagan’s opposition to the Soviet Union are standing by as Trump dismantles the postwar security order and aligns with Russia.

Presenters and Contributors

• Heather Cox Richardson — writer and narrator
• Lingling Wei, Alex Leary, Thomas Grove, and Josh Dossi — Wall Street Journal reporters
• Tom Nichols
• Andrew McCarthy
• An unnamed former Russian intelligence officer quoted in the report

The program was produced at Soundscape Productions, Dead in Massachusetts, with music composed by Michael Moss.