Donald Trump‘s special peace talks envoy has been branded a “bumbling f---ing idiot” by a White House insider unhappy about his negotiating with some of America’s most difficult adversaries.
Steve Witkoff, a former real estate attorney and Trump’s golfing buddy, has become the president’s go-to diplomat in talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
He has also tried to negotiate a ceasefire in the Middle East in complex negotiations with Israel and Hamas.
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But, according to a report in the New York Post, the 68-year-old takes part in meetings alone and sometimes used Kremlin translators in a major breach in diplomatic protocol.
A source also told the Daily Beast that Witkoff did not follow the usual security procedures in his meetings with Putin and other Russian negotiators in Moscow. “There are certain protocols involved whenever there are talks at the Kremlin–and Witkoff does not follow them,” the insider said.
Witkoff reportedly went to Friday’s meeting with Putin without the usual group of advisers, while the Russian president was accompanied by an aide, Yury Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitiev, head of Moscow’s sovereign wealth fund.
“Nice guy, but a bumbling f---ing idiot. He should not be doing this alone,” a member of Trump’s first administration told the Post.
“If Trump finally got serious about mediating an end to the war in Ukraine, he would appoint one person to talk to both sides — shuttle diplomacy — and preferably someone with some experience in diplomacy. Witkoff acts as a mailman for Putin. He is not negotiating anything,” former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul posted on X.
“Anybody engaging in these kinds of talks with Putin would benefit from having experienced Russia hands on his or her team and bringing them along to meetings with the Kremlin,” added John Hardie, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Russia program.
A spokesperson for Witkoff has not commented on the claims.
Witkoff’s attempt to bring peace to the Middle East began with a negotiated two-month ceasefire but his attempts to extend it ended in an impasse.
Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton criticized Witkoff’s handling of another sensitive negotiation involving the Iranians in a post on X saying: “Witkoff’s discussions with Iran are a waste of oxygen.”
