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'Truly shocking': Security fears mount as Trump takes off with ‘Russian KGB spy’
President Donald Trump is facing criticism for his red-carpet welcome and public embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Alaska tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson — an event featuring a B-2 stealth bomber and F-35s flyover — though many are more alarmed by what happened next.
The Russian President, a former top KGB foreign intelligence officer — a Soviet spy — was invited into The Beast, the heavily armored limousine that is the official state car of the President of the United States.
"After President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin stood for a brief photo opp, Trump appeared to ask Putin if he would like to ride with him," The Wall Street Journal reported. "Trump then gestured toward the presidential limousine, 'The Beast,' and both proceeded to get inside."
The Journal noted that "Russian media reported Putin’s own presidential car was waiting nearby, suggesting the impromptu private car ride wasn’t part of the plan."
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As Trump and Putin rode off, alone, with no administration officials, no translators, and only Secret Service agents, critics and experts were aghast over the brewing national security and counterintelligence crisis.
Calling it an "appalling...White House decision to invite Putin into the beast," Ian Mellul, a former Biden White House Director of Presidential Production, wrote: "Giving Putin a 1-1 in the beast, off the record. No interpreters. No transcript. No witnesses. The beast will have to be swept for bugs and other devices after the summit ends by USSS [U.S. Secret Service]."
Sophia A. Nelson, an award-winning author and journalist, remarked: "Trump just allowed A known Russian KGB spy to get into his car—the Beast. Correction: our car. Smdh."
"As if this image wasn’t sickening enough," remarked John Ridge, who writes about national security, foreign policy, and the Ukraine war, pointing to Putin grinning in the back seat of The Beast, "now we are going to need to replace the Beast and tear out most of 11 ABN DIV HQ to decontaminate them of listening devices and other sensors. This is a genuine counterintelligence nightmare."
One MSNBC commentator called it "extraordinary" that anyone would be invited into the President's car.MSNBC: ‘It is extraordinary that any president or prime minister gets into Trump's car. This is very rare for any allied leader, let alone a former KGB leader’
Did Putin bug 'The Beast'? pic.twitter.com/zOYssqJI5I
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) August 15, 2025
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Other events on the tarmac were disturbing to some experts, including the image of U.S. Armed Forces on their knees preparing the red carpet for Putin. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, weighed in:Truly shocking. https://t.co/vWe8wviHlN
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) August 15, 2025
"Clapping for the war criminal," wrote independent journalist Terry Moran. "What a disgrace to our country’s ideals."Clapping for the war criminal. What a disgrace to our country’s ideals.
Trump always shows his true colors around Putin. And he always sells out America and our allies.
I remember when Republican presidents—Ike, Reagan, Bush—always stood up to tyrants. This is pathetic. pic.twitter.com/BOb5uC77jX
— Terry Moran 🇺🇸 (@TerryMoran) August 15, 2025
Former Tea Party Republican congressman turned podcaster and Democrat Joe Walsh wrote: "Disgusting. Despicable. Traitorous. He’s clapping for and smiling at a war criminal, a thuggish dictator who invaded a sovereign nation and killed & destroyed the lives of millions. Disgusting. Despicable. Traitorous."
Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN, "These are very sensitive stealth aircraft. Everybody on the Russian party is a suspected spy. This whole base is now is now available to them, at least to some extent. I don't think it should have been held on the base."
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