How Vladimir Putin outsmarted three US presidents

During a private fundraising event in New York in October, 2022, President Biden gave an ominous warning about the prospect of nuclear “Armageddon.”“We’ve got a guy I know fairly well, his name is Vladimir Putin,” Biden told the crowd, according to Bob Woodward’s new book, “War” (Simon & Schuster, out now).“I spent a fair amount of time with him.

He is not joking when he talks about the potential use of tactical and nuclear weapons.”Their biggest challenge, Biden said, was understanding how the Russian leader thinks.Stuck in the Ukraine war that was looking increasingly unwinnable, Biden asked, “what is Putin’s off-ramp?”Vladimir Putin, who’s been Russia’s president since 2012, has long kept global politicians guessing.

Is he the greatest threat to world peace in modern times, or an unfairly vilified Russian patriot? CIA Director William Burns told Woodward that Putin is “widely regarded among world leaders as a master manipulator.” And nowhere is that more apparent than his relationships with US presidents.Biden, who told Putin after meeting him in 2011 that “I don’t think you have a soul” — Putin responded with a smile and the chilling line, “We understand each other” — has been consistent in his opinions.“Putin is evil,” Biden told advisers in the Oval Office, according to Woodward.

“We are dealing with the epitome of evil.”Former president Donald Trump, meanwhile, has had more admiring words for the Russian autocrat.He called Putin a “very savvy guy” and described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “genius” move. “Putin respects me,” Trump told Woodward.

“And I respect Putin.”Putin’s most effective tactic with any rival politician, writes Woodward, is “a carefully calibrated charm offensive.” He’s managed to exploit and out-maneuver presidents by giving them (or at least appearing to give them) what they want.For Biden, it is the illusion of diplomatic relations.During hi...