LETTER: Trump gave Putin a propaganda victory

Peter Kinsley’s recent letter to the editor (“Double standard,” Sept. 3) claims Democrats are hypocritical for criticizing Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin while overlooking President Joe Biden’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But this is a comparison of apples to peaches.

Mr. Biden had long refused to engage with Prince Mohammed due to human rights concerns. By 2022, however, broader strategic challenges — such as Iran’s nuclear ambitions, rising global energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Saudi Arabia’s desire to strengthen security ties and diversify its economy — made the meeting necessary. Even so, Mr. Biden confronted the crown prince directly about the brutal 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, holding him accountable rather than offering praise.

Mr. Trump’s 2025 encounter with Putin was the opposite. He staged a red-carpet welcome in Alaska, complete with a military flyover, treating a man indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes as a guest of honor. By doing so, Mr. Trump undercut decades of American foreign policy and gave Putin a propaganda victory — despite Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, its illegal seizure of Crimea, the slaughter of civilians and even the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

One meeting held a dictator accountable. The other celebrated one. That’s not a double standard. It’s a difference in principle.