President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I fear this meeting could once again end with America ceding ground to an autocrat who has spent his career undermining democratic values," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and the top Democrat on the Senate Intel Committee, said.
He warned that there could be no concessions without Ukraine’s involvement, Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory and "enforceable guarantees" for Ukraine’s security.
"Anything less would be an invitation for further aggression from Moscow and every autocrat watching to see if the United States still has the backbone to defend the principles that have kept Americans safe since the Second World War," he said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Trump of previously "playing footsie" with Putin, but noted that it appeared that the president’s disposition toward his Russian counterpart had shifted.
He added that last year, House Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass another military aid package for Ukraine, and likened it to a "Churchill or Chamberlain moment."
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S MEETING WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN IN ALASKA
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks during a news conference following the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on Sept. 19, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Intelligence Committee, told reporters that "people have been willing to give the White House and the president the benefit of the doubt."
"But if he doesn’t produce anything at this summit, after drawing red line after red line … there will be growing concern and a growing pressure to try and get something done," the New Hampshire Democrat said.
One area where many lawmakers in the upper chamber agree is the necessity for a sanctions package against Russia. Currently, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have a bill in the works that would slap up to 500% tariffs on countries buying energy products from Moscow.
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Blumenthal told MSNBC earlier this week if Trump stood firm and insisted on a ceasefire, Putin come to the table with European leaders and secure security guarantees "he has the makings of a potential agreement that could win him the Nobel Peace Prize."
"But my fear is that he will be the mercurial Donald Trump who allowed the deadline for sanctions to pass last Friday without any imposition of new levies on Russia, and that he will fail to adhere to those principles adopted yesterday by the European countries in their meeting," he said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-doubt-trump-secure-ukraine-cease-fire-alaska-summit-putin