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

President Trump is defending Steve Witkoff, his particular envoy, after a leaked recording appeared to indicate him teaching a Russian official on the right way to higher promote Moscow’s phrases to finish the warfare with Ukraine to the U.S. president.

Trump dismissed any issues as “an ordinary factor.”

“As a result of he is bought to promote this to Ukraine. He is bought to promote Ukraine to Russia,” Trump mentioned, aboard Air Pressure One, on his strategy to Florida. “That is what a dealmaker does.”

The controversy has shined a brand new highlight on Witkoff, the president’s long-time good friend and chief negotiator who has drawn criticism for his lack of expertise and go-it-alone fashion.

The recording is of an October name within the lead as much as the discharge of the unique 28-point plan to finish the warfare in Ukraine that favored Russia.

Bloomberg reviewed audio of the decision and revealed a transcript. NPR has not independently verified the transcript or name audio.

Trump mentioned Tuesday night time he hadn’t heard the audio, but additionally didn’t have an issue with the characterization of the decision.

“You bought to say, ‘look, they need this. You have to persuade them with this. You recognize, that is a really commonplace type of negotiation,” he mentioned.

The criticism has been blunt: That Witkoff is just not in search of a balanced deal, however carrying water for Russia — a U.S. adversary and the aggressor in a warfare versus Ukraine, a strategic companion and European ally.

However Trump would not appear too involved. He is sending Witkoff again to Moscow to attempt to finalize particulars of the most recent plan with Putin.

Trump and Witkoff have an extended friendship

Witkoff and the president have been buddies for nearly 40 years. Trump calls Witkoff “a particular man” and “my pal.” Their friendship dates again to an opportunity encounter at a New York Deli at 3 a.m.

Trump had no money on him. “I ordered him a ham and swiss,” Witkoff mentioned, in accordance with a report in Courthouse Information about his testimony in Trump’s protection throughout certainly one of Trump’s trials final 12 months.

Witkoff mentioned in an interview with Tucker Carlson that he discovered the true property enterprise from Trump.

“I wished to be him,” Witkoff mentioned. “Everyone wished to be him. He’d come to 101 Park Avenue, the place I used to be a lawyer. He had this swashbuckling fashion. I used to see him are available in and I used to say, ‘God, I wish to be him.'”

Witkoff has described how Trump was there for him when certainly one of his sons died from an opioid overdose in 2011.

“I’ve seen his humanity within the quiet moments away from the highlight in hospital rooms he did not should be in — the place his presence introduced actual solace in a darkish hour for my household,” Witkoff mentioned on the Republican Nationwide Conference.

In the course of the marketing campaign, Witkoff helped with fundraising. Trump additionally turned to Witkoff to deal with delicate issues like making an attempt to restore ties with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and presidential major challenger Nikki Haley.

“His greatest good friend, Steve Witkoff, got here to our home in South Carolina, spoke to me and my husband, and principally wished a truce between me and Donald Trump,” Haley mentioned on her podcast. She advised Witkoff that Trump had her assist.

Selecting Witkoff for a job his son-in-law used to fill

Properly earlier than assigning him the Ukraine peace deal, Trump picked his outdated good friend as his envoy to the Center East.

It was the identical place that Trump — in his first time period — had given to a different particular person whose loyalty was unquestioned: his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Kushner, who now runs an funding agency, had additionally come from the true property world and dealt with many powerful recordsdata for Trump, together with Center East peace, commerce talks with Mexico and Canada, immigration reform and components of the administration’s response to the COVID pandemic.

In President Trump’s first time period, his son-in-law Jared Kushner held the position now stuffed by Steve Witkoff. Kushner and Witkoff appeared collectively on Feb. 20 at a Miami convention organized by the non-profit arm of Saudi Arabia’s major sovereign wealth fund known as the Future Funding Initiative (FII) Institute.

Quite a lot of consultants scoffed at Kushner’s lack of expertise when he began his White Home position, and a few raised the identical questions on Witkoff.

How Witkoff describes his strategy to negotiations

The White Home has described Witkoff as a trusted good friend of the president who left behind an enormous enterprise enterprise to serve the nation. He would not take a wage and pays for his personal journey.

Witkoff is definitely no stranger to creating some Russia-related controversy.

Earlier this 12 months, Witkoff raised eyebrows after showing on Tucker Carlson’s podcast and mentioned Putin was “not a foul man.”

In the identical interview, Witkoff defined his strategy to negotiations. “There isn’t any doubt I am at all times making an attempt to place myself within the footwear of the opposite particular person as a result of a very good deal has to work honest for everyone,” he mentioned.

Don Peebles, the true property entrepreneur, advised NPR this spring that he had seen that angle firsthand throughout adversarial talks with Witkoff.

“If I have been going to summarize his strategy is to seek out what the opposite particular person, different aspect, desires — and to attempt to give it to him,” mentioned Peebles, who fundraised for former President Barack Obama.

Peebles mentioned he thinks Witkoff most likely has extra excessive stakes negotiating expertise than most diplomats.

He remembers being pressured to take care of Witkoff on an enormous actual property transaction in New York. Peebles thought-about strolling away. He felt like he had a gun to his head, however by no means by Witkoff.

Witkoff defused the state of affairs, promising to not be disruptive and defined how they’d each be higher off as companions, Peebles recalled.

“He took a really adversarial state of affairs from my perspective and never solely bought the deal performed, however we have been buddies ever since.”

Struggle in Ukraine is just not the identical as an actual property deal

However fixing the warfare in Ukraine is extremely complicated.

Even negotiating giants similar to Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James Baker would have a troublesome time convincing Putin to put down his arms, in accordance with Aaron David Miller, who has served as a negotiator and analyst for each Republican and Democratic administrations.

“Offers are reduce when there may be urgency,” mentioned Miller, who’s now on the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace. “And urgency is a perform of two issues: How a lot ache the events are underneath and what are the prospects for acquire proper now.”

Miller mentioned that urgency requires a mediator who is ready “to make use of honey and vinegar,” or incentives and disincentives to supply one thing that each Putin and Zelensky will be capable to rationalize — in addition to promote to their very own individuals.

“I simply do not see Putin able to make the sorts of concessions that will be required to anchor this factor and make it work,” Miller mentioned.