MIKEY SMITH: 11 unhinged Donald Trump moments as he gets absolutely played by Putin at Ukraine summit

Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last night, and the Russian dictator appears to have played him like an extremely cheap fiddle.

The stage was set, there were logos on the backdrop, serving US military officers got on their knees to roll a red carpet all the way to the war criminal's plane - though not quite to the President's

But at the end of it all, there was no ceasefire.

Putin got everything he wanted: Legitimacy, airtime, a chance to shower Trump with flattery while smirking at him, and a chance to discuss things other than Ukraine with a western world leader as if he wasn't an international pariah.

And Trump, as far as we can tell, got nothing.

The thing about Donald Trump is that for all the bluster, he's much better at setting up a meeting than he is at getting something out of it.

He's not so much a master dealmaker as an average hotelier.

Heres everything that happened at the Alaska summit that you need to know about. Buckle up.

In an ominous signal of what was to come, Putin got a lit more red carpet than Trump did.

The pair were supposed to walk to the podium from their respective aircraft down an L-shaped red carpet.

But either through a lack of length, or the inept parking of Air Force One, Trump had to walk for quite some time on the air base tarmac before his feet found felt.

All the while Putin's limpy feet enjoyed the plush fibres.

Trump weirdly applauded the ruthless Russian dictator who has ordered the deaths of countless people, undoubtedly committed war crimes, not to mention using banned nerve agents for assassinations on British soil.

Upon reaching the podium, a waiting pool reporter shouted the not unreasonable question: "Are you going to stop killing civilians?"

Putin pointed to his ear and shrugged, either indicating he couldn't hear properly, or didn't understand the language.

Putin speaks English.

He was asked the same question again at the top of the meeting, but again made a funny facial expression and said nothing.

There was a big fuss in Trump's first term about him having a short meeting with Putin where only the two leaders and Putin's interpreter - and nobody else on the American side - were there.

It was quite a relief when the details of the meeting were switched up to a three-on-three, with envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting in on Trump's end.

But then Trump ushered Putin into his car, where they were alone for several minutes on the drive to the meeting - so Putin had a chance to get in Trump's ear alone after all.

Normally if you're negotiating a peace treaty, everyone sits around a big table, with documents and officials and a big bit of wood to thump if things get heated.

The setup in last night's meeting was much more formal. Like the bilateral meetings that happen at a G7 summit or foreign visit. Two leaders either side of a low table with their entourages flanking on each side.

Almost like it was set up for a photo op rather than an actual negotiation.

After an about 3 hours of meetings, Trump and Putin walked out onto a nearby stage for a weird and stilted press conference. Sort of.

Putin spoke first, which in itself is odd for a visiting world leader.

And oddly for Trump, they walked off at the end without taking amy questions.

Putin thanked Trump for the "friendly" tone of the conversation they had on Friday and said Russia and the United States should "turn the page and go back to cooperation."

He praised Trump as someone who "has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia's has its own national interests."

"I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.," Putin said.

Trump said there are "just a very few" issues to resolve concerning the war in Ukraine, without providing any sense of what those issues might be.

"Some are not that significant," Trump said. "One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there."

The president said he's "always had a fantastic relationship" with **Putin**. He referenced the U.S. government investigations into Russia's support for his 2016 presidential campaign and repeated his claims of the U.S. economy being the "hottest" in the world.

Putin repeated Moscow's long-held position that it is "sincerely interested in putting an end" to the war in Ukraine, but for that to happen, "all the root causes of the crisis ... must be eliminated."

What he means by that, as he explained in a rambling essay shortly after the invasion three years ago, is that Ukraine isn't a real country, and it breaking away from mother Russia is the root cause of the war.

"All of Russia's legitimate concerns must be taken into account, and a fair balance in the security sphere in Europe and the world as a whole must be restored," Putin said.

At the end of the "press conference", Trump said to Putin: "Thank you Vladimir, I will probably see you again very soon."

Putin ominously replied (in English): "Next time in Moscow..."

Trump made a weird "oooooh" sound, then admitted he might "get a little heat for that one."

In an interview with (who else?) Fox News' Sean Hannity after the summit, Trump said he was "very happy to hear [Putin] say that if I was president that war would have never happened."

It's been one of Trump's least plausible talking points since taking office.

Hannity, to his credit, asked if Putin had given any specifics as to why that was the case.

Trump replied: "It did. It doesn't matter at this point.”

The President also claimed Putin had said: "I've never seen anybody do so much so fast...your country is, like, hot as a pistol," curiously echoing another of Trump's talking points.

"A lot of points were agreed on," Trump said of progress towards a deal.

"There's not that much. There's one or two pretty significant items. But I think they can be reached."

In the end, Trump sort of shrugged and said: "Now it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done."

We haven't seen what, if anything, was agreed with Putin yet, but we can probably take from this that if he objects to anything, it'll be another Oval Office showdown...

Vladimir Putin, someone you would always go to for an expert opinion on free and fair elections, says Trump was right about 2020 being rigged.

Trump said to Hannity: "Vladimir Putin said something - one of the most interesting things. He said 'your election was rigged because you have mail in voting.'

"He said, 'mail in voting, every election - no country has mail in voting. It's impossible to have mail in voting and have honest elections.'

"And he said that to me because we talked about 2020. He said, 'you won that election by so much.'"

There were reportedly lengthy calls between Trump and world leaders on Air Force One on his way back to Washington DC.

He spoke with Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Mr Starmer is due to speak again with European leaders this morning.

Mr Zelensky said the call began as a one-on-one between him and the US president, before European Nato leaders joined them.

The Ukrainian leader also suggested he would travel to Washington DC at the start of next week to continue talks.

Writing on social media, the Ukrainian president said: "We support President Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine emphasises that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.

"On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington DC, to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation."

European allies must be "involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America", he added.