() President Trump is set to meet with Vladimir Putin in Alaska at the end of this week in an attempt to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Trump has already expressed optimism ahead of the meeting, which Bill O’Reilly attributes to the president finally having a clear vision about the mind games Putin has used against him for so long.
“I think so,” O’Reilly told “On Balance.” “You can’t read anybody’s mind.”
“I had an interesting back-and-forth with Mick Mulvaney today, the former chief of staff of Trump. And he still believes that Trump doesn’t really get Putin. But I disagree with that because Putin has humiliated Trump in Trump’s own eyes by basically lying to him and saying we’re going to negotiate in good faith, and then he doesn’t. It’s a lie.
“And unless the Russian economy is battered, which is possible, I think Putin would go on killing people.”
O’Reilly feels Trump winning in such a complicated situation will come down to two things: Ukraine gives up some territory, and China turns against Putin.
“Zelensky and Ukraine are going to have to give up some territory,” he explained. “Trump knows that. That’s not right. It’s not fair. OK? But the only way to stop the madness, because only one man can stop it, Putin. No one else can stop it. Just him.
“The card that isn’t being shown is China, which is coming up next for President Trump.” Chinese influence “could have a very positive effect on Putin. If China turns against Putin, Putin’s done.”
To speak Putin’s language, which is mostly violence and action, O’Reilly believes Trump needs to go about how he’s dealt with other international issues — set a timeline and don’t back off.
“You can’t put a time on it, but he has to. The president has to basically say what he says quite often, you’ve got 90 days, or you’ve got this, or you’ve got that, which the lines can move. I think he’s tamping down expectations, Donald Trump is, and that’s a smart thing to do.”
Trump’s team must also go in to make it clear to Putin that “no bank on earth will do business with you,” O’Reilly said.
