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Andrew Weiss

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Andrew Weiss

Trump's Russia Policy: A Report Card

DATE: December 2, 2025 6:00 pm

LOCATION: Goucher College

Russia’s war in Ukraine was perhaps the toughest international challenge President Trump inherited on coming to office. He promised a quick resolution but was unable to deliver. He relied on business buddies instead of experts to carry out the diplomacy, and his freewheeling style led to contradictory moves that left everyone confused. The Financial Times traced the zig-zags through late October and found eight occasions when the President publicly advocated Russia’s position and 10 Ukraine’s.

Russia expert Andrew Weiss, our next distinguished speaker, says that U.S. policy is at a crossroads and would be a challenge for any president, but Trump has complicated matters by not making his goals clear and by keeping everything on close hold in the Oval Office.

Andrew S. Weiss is the James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research on Russia and Eurasia. His graphic novel biography of Vladimir Putin, Accidental Czar: the Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin, was published by First Second/Macmillan in 2022. He spoke to the Baltimore Council last three years ago on publication.

Prior to joining Carnegie, he was director of the RAND Corporation’s Center for Russia and Eurasia and executive director of the RAND Business Leaders Forum. Weiss previously served as director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council staff, as a member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, and as a policy assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. He has Bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University.

Please join us December 2nd at Goucher College in the Athenaeum for what is sure to be a lively presentation and discussion! This will be the second program in the new collaboration between the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs and Goucher College’s Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics. The program runs from 6 to 7 with a reception beginning at 5:30pm, where you can meet our speakers.

Contact programs@bcfausa.org for more information or to register for this event.

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