Washington Free Beacon editor Matthew Continetti said Russian President Vladimir Putin needed more from President Donald Trump than vice-versa during a discussion of the pair's meeting in Germany Friday.
"Putin needs more out of Trump than Trump needs from Putin," Continetti said on MSNBC's "Meet The Press Daily." "Putin needs economic sanctions relief. Putin needs some type of resolution to Syria, because the Syrian intervention is not very popular in Russia, either. Putin's coming in with asks as well. This is not just about Trump here."
Continetti said there hadn't been a gaffe yet like with the George W. Bush or Barack Obama administrations, such as Bush's mocked remark that he got a sense of Putin's soul from their meeting, or then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ill-advised "Reset" button.
"So far, I think the meeting has been pretty good for Trump," he said.
NBC analyst Michael Leiter said he felt the meeting was better for Putin because Russia got to present itself as the "other global leader."
The American and Russian camps said they discussed allegations of Russian interference in the election, Syria, North Korea and other topics during a meeting that stretched more than two hours.
Host Chuck Todd also asked Continetti about the optics of having Rex Tillerson, who once received the Order of Friendship of Medal from Putin, and Trump alone in the meeting with the Russians.
"Leaks," he said. "It's the easiest answer in the world."
"The obsession [with] the leaks?" Todd asked.
"It's not an obsession with leaks," Continetti said, saying that there has been a leak in every high-level meeting Trump's had with foreign officials in the Oval Office.
The Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday that the Trump administration has been hit with nearly one national security leak per day since Trump took office, far ahead of the pace of the Bush and Obama administration at the same stage.
"In order to have some control over the meeting, they clearly blocked everybody but Tillerson and Trump out," Continetti said.