Opinion Thomas L. Friedman The ‘Useful Idiots’ From America Whom Putin Is Playing Like a Flute Dec. 4, 2025, 5:05 a.m. ET Listen to this article · 8:54 min Learn more By Thomas L. Friedman Opinion Columnist I am sure President Trump and his envoys to Russia, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, sincerely want to stop the killing in Ukraine, but they are failing and will continue to fail as long as they persist in their naïve view that this is just a big real estate deal and that their backgrounds in real estate give them an advantage. It is utter nonsense on multiple levels. For starters, yes, you could say that Vladimir Putin is in the real estate business in Ukraine, but not in the way Trump or Witkoff or Kushner have been in the business. Putin is in the real estate business in Ukraine the same way Hitler was in the real estate business in Poland. Hitler coveted territory not to build a hotel or housing for profit to benefit the local residents. He, instead,...