What did Leavitt and the other WH aides witness that made them so spooked about the Putin/Trump meeting?

[bigtree]

MSNBC host Antonia Hylton has suggested that President Donald Trump’s aides, particularly Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, may have been “frightened” by what they had witnessed during the president’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Saturday night’s episode of MSNBC’s The Weekend: Primetime, Hylton spoke to former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul—an Obama appointee—about Trump’s summit with Putin in Anchorage on Friday.

“A lot of the press corps that was there, they reported in the minutes and hours after the presser that they saw members of the administration, like Karoline Leavitt, look ashen, almost frightened after what they had seen behind closed doors. What did that indicate to you?” Hylton asked McFaul.

McFaul responded, “We should all be glad that we did not go to Alaska, because I was in Helsinki with you. And I was in Geneva when President Biden met. They traveled a long way for nothing in return, those journalists.”

He continued, ”But that suggests to me that this was a bigger disaster than they’re letting on. To your point, they’re trying to spin it, although they’re not even trying to spin it. That’s a really interesting thing.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/msnbc-host-says-karoline-leavitt-looked-ashen-in-alaska-following-putin-meeting/

Peter Alexander: "What struck me was the looks on the faces of a lot of the American delegation here. Caroline Leavitt, Steve Witkoff, who came into the room, then left quickly. Leavitt appeared to be a bit stressed out, anxious. Their eyes were wide, almost ashen at times."

https://www.tiktok.com/@blueatlgeorgia/video/7539199723186523406

[bucolic_frolic]

1. USA is now a wholly owned subsidiary

That's what they learned.

[Escurumbele]

50. If they love their country they should come out and say what happened. Not doing something about it makes them

complicit, they are part of the problem by allowing this idiot to get away with more crimes and more treason.

[quakerboy]

94. there's no "if"

They do not love.

[BeyondGeography]

2. She should come clean and make things right with Jesus

[Quanto Magnus]

20. She is not a Christian

only pretends to be one on TV...

[poozwah]

39. 20. She is not a Christian

but she is a christshun.

[RainCaster]

3. They saw TSF's oral skills on full display

Their hero turns out to be a real pussy.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

30. EXACTLY what I was thinking

They witnessed first hand the punk ass getting punked.

[Fullduplexxx]

102. Or putin threatened to kill them

[Lonestarblue]

35. Or perhaps his full-on dementia showed up in front of Putin, who was obviously pleased with the results.

Trump’s rambles into la la land should scare anyone in such a meeting.

[Raven123]

47. That's my suspicion.

Who flies to Alaska, rolls out a red carpet, then cuts short a meeting, and says nothing at a presser? Trump is sicker than they are letting on. He’s just so bizarre, it’s often hard to tell his usual BS from his demented BS, but I bet something happened that has them all worried.

[Escurumbele]

51. I grant you that he is demented, but the real issue is that we all need to know what the demented buffoon

gave to Putin, what happened that could be at the level of treason?

The people who were horrified should come out and say what happened before its too late. Who knows if the buffoon offered weapons to Putin to continue killing Ukrainians? Did he sign deals for Russia to exploit minerals in Alaska while getting nothing in return besides false adulation to the buffoon?

[Raven123]

63. I agree with you, but don't hold your breath

That may be a part of what spooked his staff as well. I hope he didn’t share more of our intelligence information. I also hope the group of leaders accompanying Zelensky can have some positive impact.

[Trueblue Texan]

90. Oh, we know what he gave to Putin:

Every goddamn thing he wanted.

[slightlv]

91. I think it's more than just his demented self becoming obviously clear to everyone

in the room... American and Russian. That's scary enough... that's knowledge Putin can take and use to his advantage, as in putting a Russian spin to any headline from here he wants.

What I'm afraid of is what other National Secrets did he blurt out? I'm assuming there may still be a few that trump hasn't sold to Russia or China yet.

Damn magats! Not only should this maladministration be tried and executed for treason, but the magats as a whole need to feel dire repercussions for their treason in backing him and making the U.S. a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia.

[Dorian Gray]

69. If we're taking guesses

I'd bet Trump Shat himself in front of Putin.

[hlthe2b]

4. I would surmise she saw Putin literally threaten Trump and the US and saw Trump acquiesce/back down.

Last edited Sun Aug 17, 2025, 10:55 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm sure she's convinced herself that Trump's bravado and created persona are real. That it so clearly is not must have been a shock, but hearing Putin trample him and turn him to a powerless lump surely must have been frightening.

[yardwork]

6. That's the most likely explanation.

[Escurumbele]

52. I think its worst, and that is why, I insist, these people should come out and say what happened.

People are not horrified in such a big way finding out the person they thought was strong is just an idiot, that would enrage someone, maybe their expression would be of disappointment, but not shock as to have your head spinning...something much worst happened.

[kacekwl]

60. They all know

He's weak and lazy not to mention a traitor and don't care.

[Strelnikov_]

7. Very plausible

[bigtree]

9. or Trump pooped his pants

Last edited Sun Aug 17, 2025, 05:25 PM - Edit history (1)

...again.

[Irish_Dem]

11. No she is used to that.

It was something much worse.

[bigtree]

13. .

...agreed.

[sop]

31. I suspect Trump probably broke down during the meeting, totally lost it, started screaming and throwing things.

[Irish_Dem]

34. Quite possible but she has seen this many times recently

and in the past.

It had to be something much worse than his usual temper tantrums and abusive rages.

[Escurumbele]

53. I understand there was no ketchup in the room...so no...

[RoeVWade]

28. It sounds like they heard something that they can't continue to make excuses for like they usually do.

nt*

[Irish_Dem]

37. It was worse than that.

Every day he does stuff they cannot make excuses for.

It has to be something much worse, a very serious threat made by Putin.

[Captain Zero]

43. Maybe Trump threatened Putin first and then

Putin gave Trump a blistering smackdown?

[Irish_Dem]

46. Yes I think it was a horrific Putin threat.

[Irish_Dem]

38. This is normal for her, it's her job.

Every day he does stuff they cannot make excuses for. So she lies her ass off.

It has to be something much worse, a very serious threat made by Putin.

[lastlib]

29. is that something humans ever get used to?

His runs could be a blow to most human psyches. From many fine people say, I wouldn't want to be in the same building when he blows out....... just sayin'

[Irish_Dem]

71. Maybe, but she wouldn't be ashen faced about it.

She is used to his bad temper and screaming fits.
And yes trump’s minions are used to it.

[yellow dahlia]

67. I am curious...

...orange.

[Irish_Dem]

72. ?

[GiqueCee]

84. A take-off...

... on the title of a Swedish movie from the sixties : I am Curious... Yellow.

[Irish_Dem]

96. I had forgotten about that movie!!

I think
Putin made some serious threats.
It even shocked the Trump
Flying monkeys.

[GiqueCee]

98. Putin is a psychopath...

... and he's capable of anything. Don't rule out anything, up to, and including, tactical nukes. Yes, he is that insane. Don't doubt it for a second.

[Irish_Dem]

99. Putin is a brutal ruthless psychopath.

He is also very smart and cunning.

He is very dangerous and would use nukes yes.

[pat_k]

106. My Guess? Serious nuclear war threat and 47 said "go ahead, blow Zelensky to hell"

And then they cancelled lunch and did their best to get the hell out of there ASAP and "fix it" in back channels before any orders were issued.

[Maggiemayhem]

42. Maybe he threatened MAD

[Maggiemayhem]

49. Mutually Assured Destruction

For the post Cold War generation

[ProfessorGAC]

56. Only Works If...

...both sides are sure both sets of weapons actually work.
There is reason to believe Russia has fewer weapons than claimed & even better reason to believe what they do have doesn't work.
Russia has a per capita GDP of a bit over $14,000. Maintaining advanced hardware is expensive.

[Ursus Rex]

68. Those aren't the only WMD these days.

The threat, if there was one, could have been about political/personal destruction which is after all the kind TSF knows.

[IzzaNuDay]

95. in other words, TACO time!

They really saw how “strong” TACO was, and now they can’t unsee it!

(Ironically, there is a regional fast food chain called Taco Time…)

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

105. Did Putin threaten to attack both Kyviv and Washington with nukes if TACO didn't

cave and give him everything he wanted?

His staff suddenly saw that the king truly wore no clothes.

[OrlandoDem2]

5. Her lord and savior Donald Trump fellating Putin?

[GenThePerservering]

8. The pillars holding up their reality collapsed

when they saw what a chud their god-emperor really is.

[lame54]

10. Did Putin order Trump to hit Zelensky?

[Irish_Dem]

12. Trump's people would be fine with this.

It is something worse

[MorbidButterflyTat]

41. Like what?

[Irish_Dem]

44. Some sort of serious threat.

For trumps staff to get rattled like this it has to be bad.

They are used to trump’s criminal threats all the time. Doesn’t bother them in the least.

Putin must have made a threat at a whole new level.

[sop]

57. I think Putin threatened to release the Kraken...or Kompromat in Russian.

At some point we'll probably find out Epstein, Maxwell and Melania were all Russian agents, and the underage sex ring was part of Putin's kompromat operation.

[Irish_Dem]

61. You are correct about the operation.

Whether releasing these facts was the threat, I don’t know.

I am not sure the American people care what Trump does or did at this point.

I am not sure anyone even cares about Trump beating up and raping children.

And I do not think staff would get ashen faced hearing that Trump and his family and pals are Russian agents. Probably not news to them.

[Emile]

14. They must be almost woke and realize Trump is a traitor.

[Escurumbele]

55. YES!

[Buckeyeblue]

15. Probably Putin's favorite threat--the nukes

He probably said he's not backing down and if pressed too much he will start launching. It's the one bluff everyone is afraid to call. What makes it difficult is that Putin is perfectly content with blowing up the world. So then it's a question of can he back up what he threatens? Maybe, maybe not. But who wants to FAFO?

[Irish_Dem]

45. Yes this is highly probable.

And Putin must have gone into graphic detail.

And possibly personal threats against all of them.
Poison, air crash. Etc.

[Dave says]

109. This was not Helsinki II

Trump did not come out of their brief meeting as crushed as he seemed in Helsinki I. But it’s possible the rest of the crew was exposed to Putin’s threats that they did not themselves see before. Perhaps it was an addition of personal threats to each individual in Trump’s team?

[Irish_Dem]

110. Yes something along those lines.

And Trump doesn’t care if Putin nukes other countries. So it would not have bothered him in the least.

[C_U_L8R]

54. Cobalt-Thorium G

[BootinUp]

62. I can't help but notice how many people

don’t get that mutually assured destruction is still in place and is the only way to prevent Putin from using fucking nukes. Stop overthinking it.

[Buckeyeblue]

73. It's just that Putin seems careless with his threats to use them

It's sort of odd.

[sop]

77. And Trump probably gave Putin the green light to do so.

[Figarosmom]

16. Putin likely lit into trump

The minute doors were closed and trump responded like the quaking scardy rat he is. That press sec of his seems to worship him . She probably thought trump and putin really were friends and finally saw him as putins boy. That would shake her.

I can just hear putin to trump now .
Putin: " who the hell do you think you are, telling me what I have to do? How pathetic that you think YOU can threaten ME."

[MorbidButterflyTat]

36. YES!

It's so funny when I imagine it in my head.

[twodogsbarking]

17. It could be that they had never met Trump's boss.

[tanyev]

40. Yep, and maybe they truly believed Trump was an alpha who would dominate Putin.

I had a Trumpian boss who took me along to a meeting he had with his boss and I was stunned.

Now I knew my boss (Little Boss) was full of BS and didn't like him very much, but I was still surprised at how the meeting went. At our office, in a different location, Little Boss would talk and talk about his meetings with Big Boss and how hard he was to work with. In these descriptions of the meetings it sounded like Little Boss did most of the talking.

When we arrived for the meeting, there was one chair right in front of Big Boss's desk, but a couple feet away. I instinctively headed for it and pulled it a few inches closer to the desk. It was a standard office chair, easy to move. I looked over my shoulder at Little Boss, expecting him to grab the other extra chair in the room and bring it over to the desk, but he decided to sit in it where it was, by the wall, several feet away from us.

I wondered if I'd made a gaffe by pulling my chair closer to the desk, but Big Boss was lovely! He chatted with me a little bit before we got going on the meeting, and he had a quiet, competent demeanor. The big surprise was Little Boss, over in the corner. The motormouth was gone, replaced by "Yes, sir" and when he needed to say more he seemed kind of nervous.

I got a big kick out of it, but I still don't know why he took me along that time. He never did again.

[genxlib]

76. My daughter introduced me to the term 'Grandboss'

As in Grandfather.

And I can never think of my bosses boss in any other terms now.

[IbogaProject]

93. Spin on Final Boss

Final Bossis the final battle opponent in video games.

[mgardener]

18. I think

Putin came, laid on the table all the blackmail stuff he has on Trump.
And threatened Trump.

[FakeNoose]

21. That already happened in Helsinki

Maybe he upped the ante by telling Chump that Epstein worked for him (Putin) AND he has copies of everything Epstein ever had on him (Chump).

[paleotn]

26. Donnie has been pulling on the leash in public of late.

Spouting bravado like he's the powerful part of this equation. Sanctions, tariffs and on and on. I've been wondering when Putin was finally going to reel him in. This group of advisors and functionaries either weren't around or in such high positions during Helsinki. This may be the first time they've gotten confirmation on what Putin actually has on Trump. He's got a hell of a lot. A hell of a lot. Gigabits.

And Epstein's ghost says "And I thought I had him by the oysters. Thin soup compared to the Russians."

[NJCher]

80. this could be a factor

On another thread this morning, I read a post by Kid Berwyn:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20569081

[JoseBalow]

19. drumpf behind closed doors: "Hello, Baby..."

[Gaugamela]

22. Worst case, paranoid scenario: Putin listened to Trump blather on about nothing

for four hours, listened to him beg Putin to reach an agreement because Trump needs something, anything, to show as a win. Losing patience, Putin itemized the kompomat he has on Trump for all to hear, including tapes of Trump with underage girls, money laundering, etc., and gave Trump his marching orders. Putin then announced he didn’t have time or reason to stay for the luncheon and he walked out.

[angrychair]

23. I think Mango Mussolini

Is all but incoherent and incompetent but in a really old, loosing all his marbles, way. Now they know the KGB Butcher knows.
They will figure out a way to replace him soon.

[flashman13]

24. Clearly something heinous went down in Alaska. I suspect we will find out what it was when Zelenskyy arrives.

Trump promised to stab Ukraine in the back in some way or Putin would release the photos and videos of Trump raping little girls.

I don't see the Europeans going along with anything that Putin and his sidekick Donny agreed to.

We have probably only seen the tip of the iceberg up to this point.

[LilyBelle]

25. Krasnov speaking Russian?

btw, everyone's replies have me in stitches!

[paleotn]

33. He barely speaks "Englich"

[Blue Owl]

27. I bet Donny had a full-on dementia episode on AF1

And it’s getting harder and harder to cover up…..

[paleotn]

32. Don't think for a minute our erstwhile European allies don't know what was talked about.

They know what Putin has on Trump. Perhaps not all the details, but more than enough. You see, they have world class intelligence services too. And their visit supporting Zelenskyy is going to be quite interesting. Seems Donnie's got himself in a bit of a fix.

How all this will transpire over the coming days and weeks is anyone's guess. What I do know is I've had just about enough of living in "interesting times."

[Grokenstein]

48. It was all a flex. On Pootie-Poot's part.

"You've been talking a lot of shit lately."
"I'm sorry."
"You will tell the people you're holding a meeting in Alaska. I will come. You will greet me."
"Yes, sir."
"Your great military will bow before me. Red carpet. All of that. And then you will return to your little desk with nothing."
"Can I at least get a cute kid to f--"
"You. Get. Nothing."
"Y-y-yes, sir."
"Weakling."

[malaise]

58. See #7😀

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220567058
😂😂😂

[BootinUp]

59. Putin threatened Trump in some kind of way

And it’s not the first time either.

[gab13by13]

64. Putin probably showed a video

of Krasnov and Epstein both raping a little girl.

[NickB79]

65. Pretty obvious really

[FelineOverlord]

66. What is going on?

Yeah, this is a highly unusual all-hands-on-deck meeting that wouldn’t be happening if Alaska was productive.

5 European leaders, the head of NATO and the head of the EU don’t just drop everything and fly to DC.

H/T: @radiofreetom.bsky.social

— Angry (@angrystaffer.bsky.social) 2025-08-17T20:45:29.324Z

— Kevin St. Alder (@kevinstalder.bsky.social) 2025-08-17T21:09:14.685Z

[edhopper]

70. They saw Puti make Trump

Squeel like a pig.

[DFW]

74. I can think of two things

1.) Trump exposed himself to those present, and proved the rumors true: there is little more there than a cherry tomato.

Or

2.) The ventilation in the room failed, and Elon Musk started pulling off the hair, the pasty facial make-up and the fake body fat, lost the Queens accent, and exclaimed, “Look, Vladimir, it’s just too goddamned HOT in here. I’m suffocating! I agreed to continue this charade as long as I don’t have to suffer. We’ll have to tell the world that Donald passed away six weeks ago, and either take our chances with Vance or find him an eighth story window before he takes the oath of office!”

As we all saw, they fixed the ventilation, re-applied the hair, make-up and body fat, and resumed the charade. Leavitt and the rest agreed to a simple choice: silence about what they saw, or choosing between a pine or an oak ciffin.

[mucholderthandirt]

75. They finally realized that what they helped create is not a "Christian" America?

They've been traitors to this country, they've helped bring down a nation that was trying to live up to its ideals, and now we're just going to fall into the lowest levels of Dante's Hell, and they won't be saved anymore than the rest of us will.

We need tribunals and executions, quick. No one escapes.

[druidity33]

78. Putin said...

"Elon and Big Balls gave us every scrap of data the US has ever accumulated. We can shut your country down and send everyone there into Hell with the touch of a button. Make me do it, go ahead.."

[LetMyPeopleVote]

79. trump received his marching orders from his master and is calling for Ukraine to unconditionally surrender to Putin

See https://democraticunderground.com/100220569114

[murielm99]

81. I remember reading, years ago, about the investigators

coming away after meeting about the Warren Report. It was said that many of the participants looked quite shaken and pale. Maybe this is similar. It represents a betrayal, a deep betrayal of some sort.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

82. Diplomacy doesn't leave men looking like corpses. Blackmail does. Betrayal does

[MorbidButterflyTat]

92. I doubt anyone expected diplomacy.

[hamsterjill]

83. I would not be surprised if Putin threatened them personally.

We are all speculating, of course here, because no one knows.

But I can picture Trump saying something publicly in front of Leavitt, et al that Vlad wanted kept quiet. Putin then telling Trump that he'd better get it together and not speak in front of the staff. Then Putin telling Leavitt, et al that they'd better keep quiet because his reach wasn't just limited to Trump.

[Ray Bruns]

85. It is the natural response when you see your boss perform oral sex on another man.

[SWBTATTReg]

86. The American people deserve to know, somehow, what happened will be revealed.

[Snackshack]

87. Could it be...

...the realization they were not there to w/ the felon to negotiate but to appease.... think of it as a 2025 Anchorage version of 1938 Munich.

[returnee]

88. Talk of nukes? n/t

[LudwigPastorius]

89. Putin made Trump put on the gimp suit?

[Botany]

97. Could this be it?

Link to tweet

2 questions:

Is this real or A.I.?

Did that vehicle get hit by
drone or a mine?

[lostnfound]

100. She was wishing she hadn't left the red mask at home

It’s startling to see that the dark soul you’ve allied yourself with is owned by one even darker.

[malthaussen]

101. DJT moaning in ecstasy as he slobbered on Vlad's boots is my guess. n/t

[malaise]

103. OK - is it this

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/maine-police-officer-arrested-ice-185114180.html
People Are Using That 11-Letter "I" Word To Describe The Trump Administration After Secret Documents About The Trump-Putin Meeting Were Found In A Public Hotel Printer

Add this to the list of embarrassingly bad national security errors the Trump administration has made — secret documents with details of Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin were reportedly found in a public hotel printer.

If you haven't heard, Trump and Putin met last Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss ending the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump described the meeting as "extremely productive," but no ceasefire was confirmed.

According to NPR, eight US State Department pages with "previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details" appeared to be "accidentally" left behind in the business center of a hotel located 20 minutes from where the official Trump-Putin meeting took place.

Trump and Putin sit on chairs during a formal event. A backdrop reads
The documents, found by hotel guests, reportedly included information about "precise locations," "meeting times of the summit," and "phone numbers of US employees."

When questioned about the incident, White House Press Deputy Secretary Anna Kelly told reporters that the documents found were a "multi-page lunch menu." "It's hilarious that NPR is publishing a multi-page lunch menu and calling it a 'security breach,'" Kelly said in a quote to News Nation.

While some of the pages reportedly described details of a luncheon, others included a seating chart for the summit, room names where meetings would take place, and details about an "American Bald Eagle Statue" that Trump was set to gift Putin.


This, of course, isn't the Trump administration's first national security incident, as we all remember "signal-gate." People have a lot of opinions,

Tweet expressing frustration over privacy protocols, stating elementary school has better measures for sensitive information on printer.

Tweet criticizing Trump for mishandling government papers, calling him reckless and incompetent in national security matters. Dated August 16,
Tweet expressing frustration about a reality TV star in office, labeling the situation as unprecedented with crying emojis
@ladidaix / Via x.com
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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Also in In the News:

[AntiFascist]

104. They didn't realize how much Epstein kompromat exists on the President n/t

[Emile]

107. They witnessed they're in an administration of a traitor.

Or the pee tapes?

[liberalla]

108. Hopefully we will get some definitive reporting on this soon... or a really good leak and whistleblower!