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Trump Stands by Witkoff's 'Standard' Peace Dealmaking89%
By Eric Mack0%
11/26/2025, 1:09:09 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Begging the Question, and Confirmation Bias, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 57.1% saturation with 246 hits. Analysis detected 1,072 faulty-reasoning hits from 431 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 82.2% and a BS Rank of 89% (2,000 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 88.10% of the article peer group.
A leaked recording of peace envoy Steve Witkoff "dealmaking" was being used to drive a wedge between President Donald Trump and peace talks with Ukraine and Russia, but Trump batted back criticism, calling it "standard negotiation."
"I haven't heard it, but that's a standard thing," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on the way back to Florida's Mar-a-Lago for the Thanksgiving holiday.
"He's got to sell this to Ukraine.
He's got to sell, Ukraine to Russia.
"That's what a dealmaker does.
"They say, 'Look, they want this.
You've got to convince him.'
You know, that's a very standard form of negotiation."
The recording, published as a transcript by Bloomberg, reportedly captures Witkoff coaching Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov on how to frame a potential leaders' call — including by praising Trump as "a man of peace."
"It's standard negotiation, and I would imagine he's saying the same thing to Ukraine, because each party has to give and take," Trump added, lamenting the efforts to stand in the way of the "man of peace."
"This war could go on for years, and Russia's got a lot more people, a lot more soldiers," he continued.
"If Ukraine can make a deal, I think it's a good thing.
"Frankly, I think it's great for both."
The leak surfaced days after a 28-point draft peace plan, widely criticized by Ukraine and European allies as overly favorable to Russia, was revised to better reflect Kyiv's interests.
Witkoff has traveled to Moscow repeatedly this year and is set to meet President Vladimir Putin again next week, though he has never visited Kyiv in his envoy role.
According to the transcript, Witkoff and Ushakov discussed arranging a Trump-Putin call ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent White House visit.
A 2½-hour call between the U.S. and Russian leaders did occur as Zelenskyy traveled to Washington, during which Trump shifted from suggesting possible long-range missile support for Ukraine to stressing that Putin "wants to end the war."
Ushakov told Russian state media the leak was likely intended to hinder diplomatic efforts, the BBC reported.
Bloomberg also reported a separate leaked call involving Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who discussed informally passing Russia-aligned proposals to the U.S.
Dmitriev condemned the reports as products of a "malicious media machine."
Both Bloomberg and the BBC have been at odds with Trump.
Michael Bloomberg, who ran for president as a Democrat to defeat Trump in 2020, is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg L.P., holding an 88% stake in the company.
Trump is planning to sue the BBC for $5 billion.
Analysis
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