outwit outlast outplay
In today's meeting between Putin and Trump, Americans are grossly outmatched
With President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled to have their first face-to-face conversation on Friday, many experts are already wondering if the American president isn't "glibly walking into a trap where he will be played by the Russian leader," as The New York Times writes.
The meeting will last just 30 minutes but could cover pressing topics including Syria, North Korea, and Ukraine. Many analysts say it is likely to be a win for Putin, who has ample opportunity to spin the story afterwards to show Trump as weak, compromising, or unwilling to confront Russia over abundant evidence of election meddling.
What's more, the meeting will likely just be Trump and Putin, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, and their translators, NBC News reports, leaving the Americans grossly outmatched in terms of experience:
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has said Trump and his team have "no specific agenda" for the meeting.