Transitioning from a Fox News analyst to a significant figure within President Trump’s team, one woman became the focus as she captivated Vladimir Putin during the recent summit in Alaska.

Monica Crowley caused the Russian leader to smile warmly as they exchanged handshakes shortly before his departure from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. 

While not as well-known as Trump or as influential in policy decisions as some cabinet members, Crowley holds a crucial position in orchestrating all the President’s key functions hosted in the US. 

Serving as Chief of Protocol, the former journalist ensures that all diplomatic events proceed without a hitch, and that everyone is correctly positioned. 

Crowley would have been responsible, per the State Department, for liaising with a foreign ambassador and the US Embassy abroad to ensure all aspects of Putin’s arrival were flawless. 

Her duties would have included devising a comprehensive schedule for Putin’s visit, facilitating essential talks between the two nations aimed at negotiating a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. 

Crowley also accompanies the president on all his official visits, makes sure everything is paid for, and ensures things, such as flags, are in the right order.  

Although it is unclear what exactly Crowley planned for Putin while he visited The Last Frontier State, she was seen sending him off as he boarded his plane following the Friday summit. 

Monica Crowley may not be as famous as the president himself or his cabinet members, but Crowley plays a vital role in all of Trump’s major US-hosted events (pictured: Crowley on Air Force One on the way to Alaska) 

Monica Crowley looked pretty in pink as she shook hands with Putin as he took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday

Trump nominated her for the role in early December, as well as for the assistant secretary of state and an ambassador role. She was sworn in on May 30. 

She will also be in charge of America’s 250th Birthday and the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. 

Crowley worked for Trump during his first term as the assistant secretary of the treasury for public affairs, where she received the Alexander Hamilton Award, which honors outstanding achievement in improving executive branch agency operations. 

She also served as a foreign policy assistant for Former President Richard Nixon. 

The Colgate University alumnus joined the Fox News Channel in 1998 as a political and international affairs analyst. She left in 2004 before returning as a contributor in 2008. 

Crowley, who received a PhD at Columbia University, also hosted her own radio show called The Monica Crowley Show for WABC and was a commentator for NPR’s Morning Edition. 

Crowley is also a bestselling author of Nixon Off the Record: His Candid Commentary on People and Politics, which was released in 1996, and Nixon in the Winter, which came out in 1998. 

The historic meeting between the Putin and Trump Administrations on Friday ended with the US and Russian leaders admitting there was still work to be done. 

It would have been her job to create a detailed program for Putin’s visit, including arranging the vital meeting between the two countries to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine 

Crowley would have been in charge of coordinating with a foreign ambassador and the American Embassy overseas to make sure Putin’s arrival was perfect 

The leaders met for approximately 2.5 hours behind closed doors at the military base.  

After the meeting concluded, Trump and Putin delivered a brief joint press conference. 

Speaking aboard Air Force One as it flew toward Anchorage, the president declared his mission was nothing less than to ‘stop the killing’ and demanded that a truce between Russia and Ukraine be reached ‘rapidly.’

‘I don’t know if it’s going to be today,’ Trump admitted, ‘but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today. Everyone said it can’t be today – but I want the killing to stop.’

Trump said he made ‘some headway’ during his 2.5-hour-long meeting. 

‘We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,’ Trump said. ‘We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,’ he said. 

What was clear was that there was no immediate ceasefire or peace deal to end the Ukraine war. 

Trump, who held a summit with Putin on Friday, said he agrees the best way to end the war was to go straight to a peace settlement – not via a ceasefire, as Ukraine and its European allies, until now with US support, have been demanding.

Crowley, a former Fox News contributor (pictured), worked for Trump during his first term as the assistant secretary of the treasury for public affairs, where she received the Alexander Hamilton Award

Crowley (pictured with Trump) also served as a foreign policy assistant for Former President Richard Nixon

Trump signaled that he and Putin had discussed potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine, a proposal that has left Europe reeling as analysts brand it ‘deeply disturbing’ and a ‘clear 1-0 for Putin’.

The US also reportedly proposed an agreement that would see Ukraine not join Nato – but instead be offered Nato-esque protections similar to Article 5, diplomatic sources have claimed.

Article 5 on Nato’s founding treaty agrees collective defense – meaning allies see an attack on one as an attack on all of them.

Trump reportedly floated the plan with Zelensky and European leaders during a call after his meeting with Putin.

In an extremely uncharacteristic move, Trump allowed Putin to speak first – at what had been billed as a bilateral press conference – and then didn’t answer a single question before shaking hands with Putin again and sauntering offstage.

Their whole appearance before the press lasted just 12 minutes following more than three hours of private conversation.