What A Day – “Putin Cozies Up To Modi And Xi”

Date: September 3, 2025
Host: Jane Coaston
Guest: Tommy Vietor (co-host, Pod Save the World)

Overview

In this episode, Jane Coaston unpacks a rapidly shifting global landscape as Russia's Vladimir Putin plays host to India’s Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Through a lively and often acerbic conversation with Tommy Vietor, the episode covers the “throuple” dynamics among these leaders, their anti-U.S. maneuvers, and how Trump’s ego—and his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize—has frayed longstanding U.S.-India ties. The discussion expands to the emergence of a new anti-Western alliance with North Korea and Iran, Trump’s failed diplomacy with Putin, and the ongoing consequences for global power shifts. The episode wraps with news on the Trump family’s latest crypto scheme and Americans’ deepening pessimism about the American Dream.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Global Stage: The New “Throuple”

• SCO Summit Recap:
  • [03:28] Tommy Vietor explains the SCO as a “Regional Security cooperation Organization...founded in the early 2000s by the Russians and the Chinese, and it's sort of their counterweight to Western alliances like NATO.”
  • Jane calls out the “fun filled weekend” of Putin, Modi, and Xi as a “throuple sort of situation...but I don't judge whatever they're into.”
• Anti-U.S. Sentiment:
  • The summit featured coordinated criticism of U.S. trade and tariff policy.
  • [04:00] “A whole bunch of criticism of the United States, some thinly veiled, some not veiled at all, especially US Trade policy and tariffs.”
• Modi-Putin Bromance:
  • [04:00–04:47] Modi and Putin’s closeness is highlighted—“putting out images of them literally holding hands” as “dear friends.”

2. Modi, Trump, and the Nobel Peace Prize Saga

• U.S.-India Strains:
  • [04:47–05:24] Modi’s growing distance from Trump is traced directly back to Trump’s tariff hikes against India and his obsession with a Nobel Peace Prize.
    • “Is this...just a fuck you to Trump?” Jane asks of the Modi-Putin coziness.
  • Tommy: “Putin...is at his heart, he's a troll...everything he does is a fuck you to the United States or to Trump or to...democracies generally.”
• A Failed Alliance:
  • [05:41–06:12] Modi and Trump once collaborated during infamous “Howdy Modi” events, but the current rift stems from Trump demanding credit for “solving” India-Pakistan tensions.
• The Nobel Fiasco:
  • [06:15–08:17] Tommy details Trump’s “whining to Modi in a series of phone calls about how he'll never get the Nobel Peace Prize.” Modi is annoyed because letting Trump play peacemaker would undermine his own strongman image.
    • “Trump just decided, it's all about me and I care about my Nobel Peace Prize and I'm just going to unravel all of this.” – Tommy Vietor [07:14]

3. Putin’s Position, Trump’s Failed Diplomacy, and the Ukraine War

• Putin as Power Broker:
  • Putin uses meetings (e.g., Modi and Trump in “the Beast” limo) as “purposeful” signals to the world.
    • [08:40-08:49] “He's like, I'll ride around with whoever I want. That's Putin's message to the world.” – Tommy Vietor
• Trump’s Alaska Summit and Faltering Ukraine Policy:
  • [08:49–09:27] Jane and Tommy recount how Trump’s attempt at an Alaska peace summit with Putin yielded nothing: no ceasefire, no new meetings, while the war drags on.
• Trump’s Disengagement:
  • [09:44] Tommy: “Sometimes it seems like he just gets bored of this stuff, you know?”
  • Parallel drawn to Gaza: Trump’s momentary focus fizzles, leading to no real action or pressure on strongmen like Putin or Netanyahu.

4. The Rise of a New Anti-Western Bloc

• Expansion with North Korea & Iran:
  • [10:18–11:48] North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Iran’s president are also joining the party, appearing at a huge military parade in Beijing marking WWII’s end.
• From “Ragtag” to Real Threat:
  • [10:58–11:48] “Early on you would see meetings...and it felt like, look at this ragtag group of rogue states and kind of clowns....Over time...this kind of ragtag group...actually ended up having a lot of power.” – Tommy Vietor
  • North Korea supplies artillery to Russia; Iran supplies drones, showing how the anti-Western “alliance” is evolving from symbolic to strategic.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• [01:09] Jane Coaston: “I guess it's more of a throuple sort of situation, but I don't judge whatever they're into.”
• [04:52] Tommy Vietor: “Putin, as you know, is at his heart, he's a troll. So everything he does is a fuck you to the United States or to Trump or to...democracies generally...”
• [07:14] Tommy Vietor: “Trump just decided, it's all about me and I care about my Nobel Peace Prize and I'm just going to unravel all of this.”
• [09:44] Tommy Vietor: “Sometimes it seems like he just gets bored of this stuff, you know...”
• [10:58] Tommy Vietor: “Early on you would see meetings with Putin and North Korea or Iran, and it felt like, look at this ragtag group of rogue states and kind of clowns. ... Over time...this kind of ragtag group...ended up having a lot of power. And I think, like in summation, they all came together this week to remind us of this new alliance that they've formed and how significant it is.”
• [11:48] Jane Coaston (to Tommy): “Thank you so much as always for joining me.”
  Tommy Vietor: “Thank you for having me. Next time, we'll just talk about UNC football.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:02–01:09]: Episode cold open and shifting to the main foreign policy story
• [01:09–02:48]: US-India-Russia-China relationship background, Trump’s past statements
• [02:48–04:00]: SCO summit context and purpose
• [04:00–04:47]: Modi-Putin hand-holding, deepening ties, US tariff retaliation
• [04:47–06:12]: Explaining the Putin-Modi-China “alliance” and Modi’s tricky balancing act
• [06:12–08:17]: The Nobel Peace Prize saga and breakdown of the Trump-Modi relationship
• [08:17–09:27]: Deja vu: Putin-Trump car ride, failed Alaska summit, stalling on Ukraine
• [09:27–10:18]: Why resolving the Ukraine war seems out of reach
• [10:18–11:48]: Expansion of anti-Western alliances (North Korea, Iran), strategic significance

Headlines & News Updates (Post-Interview)

1. Pentagon Assigns Military Lawyers as Immigration Judges | [15:12]

• The Trump administration, facing massive court backlogs and after firing civilian judges, will assign up to 600 military lawyers as temporary immigration judges—raising legal and ethical questions.

2. Trump Family Enriches Itself with New Cryptocurrency | [16:59]

• Trump's family launches a new coin “WLFI” via World Liberty Financial; Trump Jr. paints it as “the governance backbone of a real ecosystem.” The family reportedly amasses $5 billion.

3. The American Dream Grows Dim | [18:19]

• Citing a Wall Street Journal/NORC poll, Jane reports that only 25% of Americans feel they can improve their standard of living—the lowest since 1987.
  • “Americans no longer believe that hard work leads to building wealth...”
  • The middle class is feeling squeezed even as the wealthy splurge and the Trumps generate instant billions from crypto.

Final Thoughts & Tone

The episode’s tone is sharp, irreverent, and darkly funny—Jane and Tommy trade barbs (and mental images) as they dissect the absurdity and danger of today’s international “alliances of convenience” and the lasting damage of leader-level ego-tripping.
The shifting allegiances and performative strategic gestures underscore a larger, worrisome trend: America is losing diplomatic leverage, and authoritarian “trolls” are exploiting every perceived weakness.

For those who missed it, this episode provides a concise but incisive roadmap to the new world order, with memorable banter and a healthy dose of skepticism about both international affairs and the integrity of America’s ruling class.