President Donald Trump's high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska reflects a "peace through strength" strategy rooted in former President Ronald Reagan's legacy, presidential historian Craig Shirley told Newsmax Friday.
Asked if Trump's remark that he would know "within the first two minutes" whether a deal could be reached meant he might walk away as Reagan did at the Reykjavik Summit in Iceland in 1986, Shirley told "The Chris Salcedo Show" that the circumstances differ.
"I really don't know. It's been over two minutes and he hasn't walked," said the author of "The Greatest Speeches of Donald J. Trump."
"There were different things at stake when Reagan walked out of Reykjavik with [Soviet leader Michael] Gorbachev," he said.
"There was no deal reached because Reagan wouldn't give up SDI [Strategic Defense Initiative, known as Star Wars]. And Gorbachev and the Soviet generals were terrified of American technology and American know-how and the American economy."
Shirley said both Trump and Reagan dealt with Moscow "from a position of strength," though the context has changed.
Host Chris Salcedo suggested that the Trump doctrine emphasizes making money, not war, using both U.S. economic and military power to achieve peace.
"I absolutely agree that that's what this is really about," Shirley said.
"Ukraine is almost an afterthought. This is about really about U.S.-Russia relations and how they ... go forward. That's why [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy is not there, because he's the status quo right now. And he's an X factor, which would be almost a distraction in these talks."
Talks between Trump and Putin have ended after more than two and a half hours. The leaders met in a three-on-three meeting along with top advisers for a high-stakes summit in Alaska.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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