It’s hard to imagine that a photo of Donald Trump wouldn’t make me sick—but the photos that came out of his summit in Alaska with Putin on Friday were truly stomach-turning.
As the cameras were rolling—Trump, the so-called leader of the free world, literally rolled out the red carpet for a credibly-accused war criminal, and greeted him like an old friend at a country club.
But this isn't just about optics. This isn't about diplomatic protocol or the niceties of international relations.
This summit represents something far more sinister—a fundamental betrayal of everything this country is supposed to stand for, and a slap in the face to every working person who still believes America means something.
In this NOTICE News Deep Dive, we’ll break down why Trump’s summit with Putin was the ultimate betrayal.
This full Deep Dive is for NOTICE News members.
You’re reading the first part of this NOTICE News Deep Dive—our in-depth reporting—for free. But the final section is available exclusively to members.
Join NOTICE News today for full access to every deep dive, our entire archive, exclusive events, and the community shaping the future of independent media.
🏥 The blood already spent
A Ukrainian family mourns the loss of an 11-year-old child while Trump greets a war criminal like an old country club friend.
For over three years now, America has stood with Ukraine in its fight for survival.
We've watched Putin's forces bomb maternity wards, target civilian infrastructure, and commit atrocities that would make previous generations of Americans reach for their rifles.
We've seen the mass graves in Bucha, the systematic kidnapping of Ukrainian children, the attacks on grain exports meant to starve the Global South.
OUR RESPONSE: How did America respond? The way we're supposed to respond to naked aggression. We stood up, sending our beleaguered ally billions in military aid.
Javelins, HIMARS, Patriots—the best of American technology sent to help a small democracy fight off a dictator's war of conquest.
American taxpayers, including working families already struggling with inflation, supported that aid because they understood what was at stake.
YES, AND: But more than that, we've spent American credibility.
Ukrainian soldiers have gone into battle carrying American weapons, trusting that America would stand with them until the job was done.
They've bled for the same principles our ancestors died for—the right to self-determination, the right to live free from foreign domination.
And then there's Trump, shaking hands with the man responsible for that suffering, treating Vladimir Putin like a respected colleague instead of the brutal dictator and war criminal he is.
🇺🇸 American freedom on the line
Think about who we’ve been standing up for:
Every Ukrainian who died defending their homeland
Every mother who lost a child to a Russian missile
Every farmer whose fields were turned into battlegrounds
Trump's warm embrace of Putin wasn't just poor optics—it was a betrayal of every single one of those people.
BIG PICTURE: It was America's president essentially saying that all that suffering doesn't matter enough to refuse a photo opportunity with their tormentor.
ZOOM OUT: The principle of self-determination isn't some abstract diplomatic concept. It's the foundational idea that built this country.
When thirteen colonies declared independence from Britain, they were asserting that people have the right to govern themselves.
When we fought fascism in World War II, we were saying that free people would not bow to dictators.
Ukraine is fighting for that same principle today. They're fighting for the radical idea that Ukrainians, not a Russian billionaire, should decide Ukraine's future.
And Trump treated the man trying to destroy that principle like an old friend.
BOTTOM LINE: Putin's war isn't just about Ukraine—it's about whether we live in a world where might makes right, or where principles still matter.
If he succeeds, every other dictator will be taking notes, drawing up their own lists of neighbors to invade.
This is exactly what happened in the 1930s when democracies failed to respond to fascist aggression.
American freedom depends on living in a world where democracy is respected, where aggression is punished, where smaller nations can trust that bigger ones won't just swallow them whole.
When Trump warmly embraces Putin, he's signaling that America is abandoning that world.
✊🏻 A betrayal of the working class
But it goes further than just a betrayal of democratic principals—Trump’s warm embrace of Putin is yet another betrayal of the working class he was supposedly elected to represent.
IF RUSSIA WINS: Ukrainian workers aren't just fighting Putin for self determination. They're fighting because they know what happens to working people under Putin's model of governance.
They've seen how he crushed Russian labor movements, how he turned the economy into a playground for oligarchs while ordinary Russians struggle to survive.
They're fighting for the right to organize, to protest, to vote for leaders who represent their interests instead of lining their own pockets.
TRUE OLIGARCHY: Putin's Russia is what happens when you accept that the powerful should rule over the powerless, that working people should shut up and be grateful for scraps.
Every Ukrainian who dies defending their country is dying for the principle that ordinary people deserve better. And Trump's response is to treat their killer like a respectable world leader.
NOT TO MENTION: American workers have sacrificed too—through tax dollars, through economic disruption, through the uncertainty that war brings.
They've done it because they understand that Ukraine's fight is their fight. That if democracy fails there, it becomes weaker everywhere, including here. Workers must always stay united against those that exploit us.
👀 The choice before us
That photo of Trump and Putin will haunt us for years. But it doesn't have to define us forever. We still have a choice.
The rest of this Deep Dive is only for NOTICE News members
Join NOTICE News for as little as $6/month and get:
Full access to the rest of this Deep Dive
Our complete archives
Exclusive member-only events
A community shaping the future of media
Independent journalism doesn’t survive on clicks. It survives on people like you.
Thanks for reading and supporting NOTICE News. We’ll be back next Sunday with another Deep Dive.
We’ll be back tomorrow morning. Questions or comments? Just reply to this e-mail.
Thank you for reading! - Andrew & Anthony