Trump defends Steve Witkoff, his key negotiator with Russia : NPR

President Trump is defending his special envoy Steve Witkoff after a leaked recording shows him coaching a Russian official to better sell Moscow’s terms to the US president for ending the war with Ukraine.

Trump dismissed any concerns as “a standard thing.”

“Because he has to sell it to Ukraine. He has to sell Ukraine to Russia,” Trump said aboard Air Force One en route to Florida. “That’s what a dealer does.”

The controversy has shed a new light on Witkoff, the president’s longtime friend and chief negotiator, who has drawn criticism for his lack of experience and aloof style.

The recording is of a call made in October, before the release of the original 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine in favor of Russia.

Bloomberg reviewed the audio of the call. and published a transcript. NPR has not independently verified the transcript or the call audio.

Trump said Tuesday night that he had not heard the audio, but that he had no problem with the characterization of the call.

He said, “You have to say, ‘Look, this is what they want. You have to convince them of this. You know, it’s a very standard form of negotiation.’

The criticism is clear: Witkoff is not looking for a balanced agreement, but rather carrying water for Russia – a US rival and aggressor in the war versus Ukraine, a strategic partner and European ally.

But Trump doesn’t seem too worried. He is sending Witkoff back to Moscow to try to finalize the details of the latest plan with Putin.

Trump and Witkoff have an old friendship

Witkoff and the President have been friends for nearly 40 years. Trump calls Witkoff “a special person” and “my friend.” Their friendship began with a chance encounter at a New York deli at 3 a.m.

Trump didn’t have any cash. According to one report, Witkoff said, “I ordered him ham and Swiss.” Courthouse News About his testimony in Trump’s defense during one of Trump’s trials last year.

Witkoff said An Interview with Tucker Carlson That he learned the real estate business from Trump.

“I wanted to be that,” Witkoff said. “Everyone wanted to be him. He came to 101 Park Avenue, where I was a lawyer. He had a very aggressive style. I would watch him come in and say, ‘Oh my God, I want to be like that.'”

Witkoff has described how Trump was with her when one of her sons died of an opioid overdose in 2011.

Witkoff said at the Republican National Convention, “I have seen his humanity in quiet moments away from the spotlight, in hospital rooms where his presence was not there – where his presence brought real solace to my family in a dark time.”

During the campaign, Witkoff helped raise funds. Trump also turned to Witkoff to handle sensitive matters, such as trying to repair relations with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and presidential primary challenger Nikki Haley.

“His best friend, Steve Witkoff, came to our house in South Carolina, talked to me and my husband, and basically wanted a compromise between me and Donald Trump,” Haley. said on his podcastHe told Witkoff that Trump had his support,

Wittkoff for the role that his son-in-law filled

Before handing over the Ukraine peace deal, Trump chose his old friend as his envoy to the Middle East.

It was the same position that Trump – in his first term – gave to another man whose loyalty was unquestioned: his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Kushner, who now runs an investment firm, also came from the world of real estate and has handled many difficult files, including Trump middle east peace, trade negotiations with mexico and canada, immigration reform and parts of the administration Response to Covid pandemic,

In President Trump’s first term, his son-in-law Jared Kushner took on the role now held by Steve Witkoff. Kushner and Witkoff appeared together on Feb. 20 at a Miami conference hosted by the nonprofit arm of Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund, called the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute.

When Kushner began his role in the White House, many experts derided his lack of experience, and some raised the same questions about Witkoff.

How does Witkoff describe his approach to negotiation?

The White House has described Witkoff as a trusted friend of the president who left a major business venture to serve the country. He does not take a salary and bears his own travel expenses.

Witkoff is certainly no stranger to stirring up some Russia-related controversy.

Earlier this year, Witkoff raised eyebrows After appearing on Tucker Carlson’s podcast and saying that Putin is “not a bad guy.”

In the same interview, Witkoff explained his approach to negotiations. “There’s no doubt I’m always trying to put myself in the other person’s shoes because a good deal should be fair to everybody,” he said.

Real estate entrepreneur Don Peebles told NPR this spring that he witnessed that attitude firsthand during an adversarial conversation with Witkoff.

“If I were to summarize his approach, it’s to figure out what the other person, the other side, wants — and try to give it to him,” said Peebles, who raised money for former President Barack Obama.

Peebles said he believed Witkoff probably had a greater experience in negotiations than most diplomats.

He remembers being forced to deal with Witkoff in a large real estate transaction in New York. Peebles considered walking away. He felt as if a gun was held to his head, but Witkoff never did.

Peebles recalls that Witkoff defused the situation by promising not to be disruptive and explaining how they would both be better off as partners.

“He understood a very adverse situation from my perspective and not only got the deal done, but we have been friends ever since.”

War in Ukraine is not the same as a real estate deal

But resolving the war in Ukraine is incredibly complicated.

Even negotiating with stalwarts like Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James Baker will have difficulty convincing Putin to lay down his arms, according to Aaron David Miller, who has worked as a negotiator and analyst for both Republican and Democratic administrations.

“Deals are cut when needed,” said Miller, now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “And the urgency depends on two things: how much pain the parties are in and what the prospects for profit are right now.”

Miller said the urgency requires a mediator who is willing “to use honey and vinegar” or incentives and disincentives to produce something that both Putin and Zelensky will be able to rationalize – as well as sell to their own people.

“I don’t think Putin is willing to make the kind of concessions that would be necessary to get this thing set up and make it work,” Miller said.