Every word carries the weight of national policy when presidents pick up the phone to speak with foreign leaders. These calls are not casual conversations. They are matters of record. They are documented through near-verbatim transcripts. These transcripts are carefully distributed among agencies to guarantee accountability.
Tara McKelvey, writing for the BBC news, reports on a briefing for the president. Officials from the US national security council (NSC) give this briefing. This occurs before a call with a foreign leader. Then the briefers sit in the Oval Office with the president. Then he speaks on the phone with the foreign leader.” “At least two members of the NSC are usually there,” according to USA Today.
But under Donald Trump, these safeguards were bent, sometimes broken. Especially when it came to Vladimir Putin.
A Presidency Behind Closed Doors
Unlike past presidents, Trump restricted who can listen in on his international calls. Senior national security staff were often excluded. Records of conversations were not widely shared with the State Department. Conversations, including those with Putin, were also not shared with Defense officials who would normally implement policy. Instead, transcripts were stored in a classified system meant for covert operations. This system shielded them even from career professionals entrusted with foreign policy.
When I worked in international exchanges with the USSR, transparency—though fragile—was critical. Our delegations depended on trust. Even in the depths of the Cold War, we documented and shared our discussions to keep dialogue accountable. Trump, by contrast, operated in shadows, turning diplomacy into a personal deal.
Why Putin Benefited
Trump’s secrecy fit neatly into Putin’s playbook. Putin thrives when decisions are struck in private, where informal agreements outweigh alliances. Trump bypassed the normal checks and balances of government. This allowed Putin to frame their conversations as private deals. This action undermined NATO unity and unsettled European partners.
The July 2018 Helsinki summit is the clearest example. Trump emerged from a closed-door meeting with Putin and sided with the Kremlin’s denial of election interference over U.S. intelligence agencies. Without a robust record of what transpired, the American public—and its elected representatives—were left in the dark.
How Trump Broke the Rules of Presidential Calls
| Category | Normal Procedure | Trump’s Practice |
| Audio Recording | No recordings since Nixon; only memorandums | In first term, normal procedures were followed. The 2019 call between Trump and Zelenskyy led to Trump’s first impeachment. A chronicle of a whistleblower’s report that Trump tried to bribe President Zelenskyy (link 2.) Restricted access who listens. Use of a private phone is a problem |
| Transcript Accuracy | Near-verbatim transcripts (software + note taking) | Subjective summaries, key calls moved to secret or non-government servers |
| Record Access | Shared Across National Security Council (NSC). Here is who listens (link 1.). | Records withheld; limited distribution to loyalists. |
| Congressional Oversight | Congress can review if requested | Resisted oversight; claimed ‘absolute privilege.’ |
This comparison shows how far Trump deviated from accepted procedure—choosing secrecy over transparency, and personal loyalty over institutional accountability.
Democracy Requires Sunlight
Presidential calls are not taped. But they do need to be documented faithfully and made accessible to the institutions charged with safeguarding U.S. foreign policy. Trump’s pattern of secrecy—especially with Putin—undermined not only transparency but also trust with America’s allies.
Calls that should have been diplomacy turned into private negotiations. Conversations that should have been recorded in history became hidden from history.
Ukraine fights for survival. Europe looks to the United States for leadership. We should be clear-eyed. Trump’s private channels with Putin weren’t diplomacy. They were a distortion of it.
Summary
When interacting with foreign leaders, presidential calls are critical and often documented. Nonetheless, during Donald Trump’s presidency, transparency declined, particularly in discussions with Vladimir Putin. Trump limited access to these conversations, excluding key national security staff and storing transcripts in a classified system. This secrecy benefited Putin by allowing private agreements to overshadow formal diplomacy, undermining U.S. alliances, particularly with NATO. Trump’s approach distorted genuine diplomacy, diminishing trust with allies and leaving the American public unaware of important discussions.
How do you think U.S.–Russia relations would look today if Trump had handled his calls with Putin under normal presidential procedures?
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