Guests find forgotten Trump–Putin dinner plan in hotel printer after canceled event

Although the event, along with the expanded talks between the Russian and U.S. delegations, was canceled, preparations had already been underway. This was confirmed by a several-page restricted-access document that the tourists handed over to National Public Radio (NPR).

As NPR’s editorial staff notes, and as shown in the published documents, the materials outlined the seating arrangement for dinner guests, their names and positions (including English transcriptions of the Russian surnames of Putin and his team), the order of various protocol steps, the menu, and even the work phone numbers of those responsible for the event.

The planned menu included green salads, filet mignon, halibut, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and crème brûlée for dessert. Trump and Putin were to be seated directly across from one another.

Read also: U.S. soldiers roll out red carpet for Putin, sparking social media outrage

According to the program, the American leader was supposed to present Putin with a desk statue of a bald eagle, the symbol of a free America.

Security expert's assessment

Jon Michaels, a professor of law at UCLA who lectures about national security, told NPR that the documents found in a printer at Hotel Captain Cook in Alaska are evidence of “the sloppiness and the incompetence of the [Trump] administration.”

"You just don't leave things in printers. It's that simple," the professor said.

• Political analysts interpreted the cancellation of the dinner as a sign of Trump’s partial dissatisfaction with his meeting with Putin at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base.