Francis Fukuyama Exposes the Secret Trump-Putin Deal That’s Dividing the World
Renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama, author of “The End of History and the Last Man,” has revealed a shocking secret: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have quietly struck a deal to divide the world into spheres of influence, all while maintaining a public rivalry.
Drawing on decades of expertise in strongman governance and international relations, Fukuyama argues that recent events—especially Putin’s silence during America’s military capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro—prove the existence of a coordinated arrangement. In this deal, Russia is given free rein in Ukraine, while America dominates Latin America.
According to Fukuyama, the public spectacle of conflict between Trump and Putin is just theater. Behind closed doors, both leaders have agreed to carve up the globe like old-world emperors.
When American forces captured Maduro, the most telling reaction was not from Caracas or Washington, but from Moscow: absolute silence. Despite Russia’s longstanding support for Venezuela, its military advisors, and sophisticated defense systems, Putin withdrew his forces before the U.S. operation and offered no protest. This, Fukuyama claims, signals collaboration rather than confrontation.
The deal’s other half is revealed in Ukraine. As America intervened in Venezuela, support for Ukraine subtly waned. Weapons shipments, intelligence sharing, and financial aid slowed, and requests for advanced weaponry were delayed.
This shift, though not dramatic enough to make headlines, gave Russia breathing room to pursue its interests in Eastern Europe. Fukuyama sees this as a return to “realpolitik”—where power is wielded by personal deals between strongmen, not by institutions or alliances.
Trump and Putin, Fukuyama argues, prefer personal power over institutional constraints. They operate outside the rules-based order, making decisions unilaterally and bypassing democratic oversight.
Their arrangement echoes historic power-sharing deals, like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact or the spheres of influence agreed at Yalta. But unlike the leaders of the past, Trump and Putin are dismantling the modern international system built on law and alliances.
The cost of this arrangement falls on ordinary people. Venezuelans lose sovereignty and face American occupation. Ukrainians, deprived of robust support, become more vulnerable to Russian aggression. Both populations are reduced to pawns in the ambitions of two authoritarian leaders who view nations as expendable assets.
Fukuyama warns that this betrayal of allies is not accidental—it is structural to strongman rule. Democratic leaders are held back by institutional checks, public accountability, and legal obligations.
Strongmen face none of these constraints and can change policy at will. This makes alliances fragile and leaves smaller nations exposed to the whims of powerful patrons.
Traditional diplomatic responses are ineffective against secret deals between strongmen. Institutions like the United Nations and international courts assume that major powers respect rules—but when leaders reject these constraints, democracy loses its power to protect. The public rivalry between Trump and Putin serves only to hide their cooperation, manipulating media narratives and keeping domestic populations in the dark.
Fukuyama concludes that the Trump-Putin arrangement marks a dangerous shift: from rules-based global order to personal, authoritarian deals. If this model succeeds, other leaders may follow, further eroding democratic institutions and international law. The fate of democracy itself may hinge on whether these secret deals deliver stability or provoke backlash. For now, as bombs fall on Caracas and Ukraine suffers, the world witnesses the quiet death of democracy—one secret deal at a time.
