President Trump is defending Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, after a leaked recording appeared to show Witkoff coaching a Russian official on how to better sell Moscow’s terms to end the war in Ukraine to the U.S. president. Trump dismissed concerns as “a standard thing,” saying aboard Air Force One that “that’s what a dealmaker does” and that “he’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia.”
The recording, reportedly from October in the lead-up to the release of an original 28-point plan that favored Russia, was reviewed by Bloomberg, which published audio and a transcript. NPR has not independently verified the audio or transcript. Trump said he had not heard the audio but did not object to the characterization of the call.
Critics say the call reinforces worries that Witkoff is not seeking a balanced deal but is instead carrying water for Russia — an adversary and the aggressor in a war against Ukraine, a U.S. partner and European ally. Despite the backlash, the White House is sending Witkoff back to Moscow to try to finalize details of the latest plan with President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff has been friends with Trump for nearly 40 years. Trump has called him “a special guy” and “my pal.” Their relationship dates to a late-night encounter at a New York deli; Witkoff has recounted instances of Trump’s personal support, including during the death of one of Witkoff’s sons. Witkoff has also testified in Trump’s defense in court and helped with campaign fundraising. He has handled sensitive political matters for Trump, including outreach to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and to former rival Nikki Haley, who has said Witkoff sought a truce between her and Trump.
Trump tapped Witkoff as a negotiator on Ukraine after previously naming him an envoy to the Middle East — a role in Trump’s first term filled by Jared Kushner. Like Kushner, Witkoff comes from the real estate world, a background that drew criticism when Kushner assumed White House responsibilities and has drawn similar skepticism about Witkoff’s lack of diplomatic experience.
The White House portrays Witkoff as a trusted friend who left a large business to serve without salary and pays his own travel. Witkoff has courted controversy before: in an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast earlier this year he said Putin was “not a bad guy” and described his negotiation style as trying to put himself in the other side’s shoes so “a good deal has to work fair for everybody.”
Real estate entrepreneur Don Peebles told NPR he has seen that approach in practice. Peebles said Witkoff seeks to find what the other side wants and to give it, and that in tough negotiations Witkoff can defuse an adversarial situation and produce a lasting deal. Peebles suggested Witkoff has more high-stakes negotiating experience than many diplomats.
But experts caution that solving the war in Ukraine is far more complicated than closing a business deal. Aaron David Miller, a former negotiator and analyst who has worked for Republican and Democratic administrations, said even figures like Henry Kissinger and James Baker would struggle to persuade Putin to make the concessions necessary to end the conflict. Miller emphasized that deals require urgency — a mix of pain and prospects for gain — and a mediator willing to apply both incentives and penalties so leaders can justify concessions to their own publics.
“I just don’t see Putin ready to make the kinds of concessions that would be required to anchor this thing and make it work,” Miller said.
The leaked call has intensified scrutiny of Witkoff’s role and methods, raising questions about whether a private businessman and longtime friend of the president is the right person to handle negotiations that involve U.S. strategic interests and an embattled European ally. Trump, however, continues to back Witkoff and is sending him back to Moscow to pursue the latest plan.