(CNN)The Russians just played the President. It was predictable. And he let it happen. On paper, Vladimir Putin should not have had the upper hand going into the meeting. To start with, Russia has been living with sanctions put in place more than three years ago because of their annexation of Crimea. And most Americans, save a few people including the President of the United States, are confident that Putin led the Russian intervention into the American election and into many other elections around the world.