How Trump's 'no-notes' meeting with Putin wreaked havoc at the National Security Council

The lack of an official record for one of President Trump's foreign policy meetings apparently created a whole lot of confusion among those in the administration.

The Washington Post reports that after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in 2018, Bolton told administration officials that during the "no-notes" meeting, the president had "insisted that U.S. troops would stay in Syria until Moscow forced out its Iranian allies." So officials at the Pentagon and the State Department began to work out a strategy with this as the goal since they had "no reason to doubt Bolton's account."

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Because no notes were taken at this meeting with Putin, the Post writes that what Trump actually said is still a mystery.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.