STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
President Trump says he did not get a heads-up before Israel struck a target in Qatar. He says he learned this from the U.S. military and only heard later from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then yesterday, the president questioned why Russia had violated Poland's airspace with drones just weeks after he welcomed President Vladimir Putin for talks. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez has been following the president's interactions with these leaders. Hey there, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. So Netanyahu is a close ally or has been. Putin is a U.S. adversary, but Trump was convinced he had a personal relationship that would bring Putin around. How's that working out?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, this has not been working out how Trump wants it. I mean, you have a very big escalation here in both conflicts. Qatar is this U.S. ally who was trying to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And Poland is a NATO ally, whose leader was just in the Oval Office last week. Trump even said that he'd be open to sending more U.S. troops to Poland. And now there has been no formal response to Russia's actions. And Trump told reporters he wasn't thrilled with Israel and that the strikes do not advance Israel or U.S. goals.
INSKEEP: I'm just thinking this through. He's also said from time to time he's not thrilled with Putin. He used to say, though, that these wars in the world would not have happened if he had been in office. What do these new developments say about his ability to contain conflicts?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, I think it's going to be a real test for Trump. I was talking with Heather Conley, who worked on European issues in the Bush State Department, and she points out that Trump often says that foreign leaders would not dare take military action against the U.S. under his watch. But she says what happened this week kind of undercuts that.
HEATHER CONLEY: Vladimir Putin has taken perhaps the most bold military decision to potentially harm NATO ally Poland. We've seen where now Israel is expanding its military operations across the Middle East. This is happening on Mr. Trump's watch.
ORDOÑEZ: And Conley says Trump needs to take decisive action, or it's going to be interpreted by Putin and Netanyahu that it's OK to continue pushing these boundaries.
INSKEEP: Well, Putin specifically - how has Trump responded as Putin keeps sidestepping Trump's efforts at a ceasefire?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Trump's kind of swung back-and-forth between deference and frustration with Putin. I also spoke with Kori Schake at the American Enterprise Institute before these latest attacks, and she told me that Trump continues to overestimate his own influence while undermestimating (ph) Putin's resolve.
KORI SCHAKE: The Russians are losing a thousand soldiers a day. What President Trump doesn't seem to understand is that Russia's willing to kill a thousand Russians a day to achieve their objectives in Ukraine. They're not going to make any compromises until their cupboard starts running dry of money, weapons or people.
INSKEEP: As long as they've got anything in the cupboard, what are Trump's options?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, on Russia, Trump has repeatedly threatened more economic sanctions before backing down. And last week, he suggested he had more levers to pull. But he's also pushing European leaders to do more, such as stop buying Russian energy.
INSKEEP: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, thanks for your insights.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Steve.
(SOUNDBITE OF RILO KILEY SONG, "PICTURES OF SUCCESS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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