So why exactly is Trump having a summit meeting with Putin ?

"This is a summit about appeasement and we should be terrified that Trump is going to sell out America and its allies.Any other President — Republican or Democrat — would use this summit to confront Russia for its on-going attack on our democracy, for its illegal occupation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine, for its efforts to assassinate people using chemical weapons in the U.K., and for its backing of [Syrian President Bashar al-]Assad. We should be confronting Russia and redrawing clear red lines, not trying to cut any deals because the only deal to be had is one where Russia agrees to completely change its behavior. That's not going to happen." - Max Bergmann of the Center for American Progress.

"If Trump really were a Russian asset, it's hard to think what else he could do to rupture the Western alliance, diminish U.S. influence, undercut democratic government and human rights, boost Russia's leverage in the Middle East and give Putin a green light to manipulate our elections with impunity." - Jennifer Rubin , WaPo.

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MistyCee

I'm pretty sure everyone who doesn't think Trump is taking orders from Putin or drink Trump's koolaid thinks there's a risk Putin will end up playing Trump like a fool and walk away with stuff he wants in exchange for stuff that either hurts us, or at least lines Trump's pockets personally.

Hopefully, Trump's wing it routine like he did with Kim is just an act, or he'll suddenly start taking the job a bit more seriously, but I kind of doubt it. Trump seems to idolize Putin and Kim way too much for that, and it kind of makes sense, when you think about it. Trump's new brand of crony capitalism is nothing compared to the operation Putin has running in Russia, and my guess is Trump will go into the meetings and take notes.

One of those notes may say something like "I asked about interfering, and he said, no, so I believe him" or something, but I wouldn't expect anything more from Russia than vague assurances like we got with Kim, in exchange for concessions from Trump, which may well be more than he's legally entitled to give.

I do hope I'm wrong.