CNN Anchor Says European Leaders Rushed to Join Zelensky in D.C. Because of ‘9/11’ Level of ‘Deep Worry’ About Trump

CNN anchor Abby Phillip told podcast host Kara Swisher that the European leaders who rushed to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C. did so because they have a 9/11 level of concern and “deep worry” about President Donald Trump.

Phillip was on Tuesday’s episode of Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, and among the topics they discussed were Trump’s summit in Alaska last Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then the subsequent White House meeting on Monday with Zelenskyy and European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Swisher brought up the two summits, pointing out that Trump had “rolled out the red carpet” for Putin, “but no deal was made.”

The president “seems to be siding with Putin right now,” she continued, backing off on demanding a ceasefire from Russia before peace agreement negotiations begin and “telling Ukraine to give up on getting back Russia-annexed Crimea or joining NATO.”

Noting that Phillip had been a part of CNN’s live coverage and asked for her take on what had unfolded.

“I think it’s extraordinary that this is even happening,” said Phillip, expressing her amazement at how “a phalanx of European
leaders getting on planes at a moment’s notice to flock to Washington to give Zelenskyy backup in this meeting with Trump.”

“That’s a level of concern that I think some people say hasn’t been demonstrated since 9/11,” Phillip continued, “and it reflects a deep worry about Trump’s decision-making and his need to be surrounded by a certain point of view in order to come to what they view as the right conclusion.”

The fact that all these European leaders dropped everything to come to D.C. with Zelensky “says a lot,” she said, before giving a more detailed assessment of the two leaders’ strategic approaches, describing Trump as someone who “really believes that he can get Putin to the desired outcome by simply treating him right, by giving him the red carpet, by giving him the military welcome, the smiles, the round of applause, all of that –”

“Which is what he [Trump himself] wants,” said Swisher.

“But Putin doesn’t really care about those things,” Phillip said. “He wants what he wants in the interest of Russian Empire, which is what he wants to reestablish.”

There were still very few details that were known about what Trump and Putin discussed, Phillip continued, and “the devil is 100 — 1,000% in the details here.”

“Which is not Trump’s strong suit,” Swisher interjected.

“Exactly,” replied Phillip, whereas Putin was “worried about the details,” and “the details also become insanely important to Ukraine because they have been in a situation before where they’ve been given security guarantees” and then “still been bulldozed as a result of it.”

Putin strategically “wants to divide the United States and Europe,” Phillip said, “so it is also in Putin’s interest to disentangle Ukraine’s security from Europe and NATO.”

Later in their conversation, Phillip said she was “confused” by how “Trump has a whole military and a national security apparatus and an intelligence apparatus who he can ask about what is happening on the ground,” but instead of asking his own experts he will take Putin’s word for it and why he would regurgitate Putin’s view of the war to Zelenskyy.”

“It still reminds you of the hold that Putin has on Trump,” replied Swisher, where “over and over again, we seem to get the same result, every time he walks in a room with him and comes out — he comes out different as if his brain has been fried or something.”

Phillip replied that she thought Trump was “super impressed” by Putin and views him as having “arranged Russian society in a way that he admires,” and “really just thinks Putin is doing it better than anybody else” and is “not concerned about the moral quandary of Putin killing dissidents and perhaps doing war crimes and all of that stuff. It’s an admiration at the heart of it.”

“And he doesn’t admire someone like Zelenskyy,” said Swisher.

Watch the video above via Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway on YouTube.