The red carpet was perfectly rolled out. The military flyover was precisely timed. The backdrop reading “Pursuing Peace” was strategically positioned for maximum photogenic impact. And yet, when the curtain fell on Donald Trump’s carefully choreographed summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the American president had little to show for his theatrical diplomacy except the bitter taste of being outmaneuvered by a more cunning adversary.

The Alaska meeting, which concluded without the Ukraine ceasefire Trump had promised, represents the latest chapter in a troubling pattern: the 45th and 47th president’s persistent confusion of stagecraft for statecraft. Where Reagan walked away from Reykjavik rather than accept a bad deal, Trump seems perpetually seduced by the optics of the moment, the handshake photo, the joint press conference that suggests progress where none exists.

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Putin emerged from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson having achieved precisely what he came for: legitimacy on American soil, the erosion of Western unity, and a platform to present his territorial demands as reasonable “agreements.” Trump, meanwhile, offered the unconvincing assurance that they had made “many, many points that we agreed on”—diplomatic speak for admitting you’ve been played.

Read more: Why Putin Must Be Thrilled With the Result of the........

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