Ray McGovern

President Trump is dispatching the Witkoff/Kushner/Rubio “Gang of Three” to Moscow for talks with Putin. In my view, both Trump and Putin want the talks to be successful. There are, of course, major hurdles.

Trump has marginalized the Europeans to the point that he has ordered Rubio to skip the NATO ministerial on December 3. Marginalizing the Lindsey Grahams and Mark Warners of this world – not to mention the legacy media – is sure to prove more difficult.

Are we now to expect “Russia-gate II”, with Trump back “in Putin’s pocket”?

Yes. The Russophobes and war profiteers will surely try to emasculate Trump once again.

It will be easy for them to succeed in this, unless Americans can understand that “Russia-gate I” was one of the biggest political scandals in American history — far worse than a “hoax”.

I gave a talk on this at USC earlier this year, but someone forgot to press the RECORD button. So I interviewed myself, using the same 11 slides used during my lecture at UNC, updating them a little. My self-Zoom is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq1uQ6QHO88.)

Here are the slides:

Graham Fuller & I: US/Russia/Ukraine. We’re in liminal space. Reports that the peace plan is dead on arrival are “greatly exaggerated”. Witkoff will give it to Putin next week. Putin probably receptive. Will Trump have cojones to face down hawks this time?

Today – We can GIVE THANKS where it is due. NYT!!! says Trump’s motives on peace-plan include “his desire for a Nobel Peace Prize”. Strange, but true! Pining for Nobel may help account for his inordinate haste to “get it done” NOW. See min. 3:30 to 7:00 of

Worth Reading: Trump’s Ukraine plan: Realism mercifully returns to Washington, by Leon Hadar The scandal isn’t Trump’s plan—it’s the US policy elite’s refusal to pursue diplomacy. Nov 25.
https://asiatimes.com/2025/11/trumps-ukraine-plan-realism-mercifully-returns-to-washington/

Given continual brainwashing by corporate media on Russia/Ukraine, most Americans are in the dark as to how the war started. A year ago I gave a talk at USC during which I used the following ten slides. (The entire lecture is at: https://raymcgovern.com/2024/10/23/the-truth-about-ukraine/).

Let me call your particular attention to the last two slides I used. Professor John Mearsheimer has the kind of reputation that comes of having been right (unlike most of his professional professor pundit peers). He is the informal Dean of the “Realism” school of International Relations and typically, got the Ukraine conflict correct from the start:

Sept 2014: “Why Ukraine Crisis is the West’s Fault” (Foreign Affairs)“US/NATO now face choice on Ukraine. They can exacerbate hostilities w/ Russia & devastate Ukraine or work to create a prosperous but neutral Ukraine.”

May 2023: “Putin invaded Ukraine with great reluctance. I do not think he had any other options. He was deeply committed to the Minsk agreement so that he would not have to invade.”

The last slide is on the lighter side; a gift for Thanksgiving.

What you didn’t know about Ukraine & were afraid to ask. Putting the “28 Points” in the context of the past decade. Trump now grasps reality at the front, will honor promises in Alaska. Zelensky is left with no cards, except the wild-card jokers in Europe.

BREAKING on Ukraine-Russia: Putin describes the “28-points” Witkoff-Dmitriev paper as “updated version of the Alaska understandings which were “paused due to Ukraine’s rejection.” Putin: “I believe it could also form the basis of a final peace settlement.”