Trump’s ‘lone ranger’: How Steve Witkoff became the defacto point man on America’s foreign policy challenges
CNN
Last month a private jet belonging to Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff winged its way from Abu Dhabi to Doha to Moscow and Baku, before finally flying to Palm Beach, where Witkoff briefed President Donald Trump on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin— all within the span of a few days.
Last month a private jet belonging to Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff winged its way from Abu Dhabi to Doha to Moscow and Baku, before finally flying to Florida, where Witkoff briefed President Donald Trump on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — all within the span of a few days. It was just another week for Witkoff, whose globetrotting is now taking him well beyond his original job as it becomes increasingly clear that he has what few others, if any, in the administration do: the absolute faith of President Trump. The pace in recent weeks has not abated. Witkoff met with Ukrainians and Europeans in Paris on Thursday to discuss driving an end to the Ukraine War, before he was scheduled to zip over to Rome for a second round of talks with Iran to pave the way for a possible nuclear deal. In three short months, Witkoff has become Trump’s defacto point-man on some of the most urgent foreign policy challenges facing the new administration. His expansive remit has at times verged into territory usually reserved for secretaries of state and CIA directors. For someone who’s never worked in government, that’s raised questions in Washington and abroad over how Trump views the other more traditional and experienced foreign policy hands on his team — and whether Witkoff is truly equipped to operate at such a high level on the world stage. “Very few people outside the White House inner circle have worked with him. He operates as quite the lone ranger,” said a longtime US official who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity in order to talk freely. “Doing this shuttle diplomacy without a single expert is definitely unusual. I really can’t explain that. It’s odd and it’s not ideal.”
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