Trump’s ballroom chief went on a secret Russian diplomatic mission

Rodney Mims Cook Jr., Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova

President Donald Trump's hand-picked fine-arts chief and ballroom buddy Rodney Mims Cook Jr. popped over to Russia again for Vladimir Putin's alternative to the Davos economic forum. It turns out the secret goal was not merely to brag about the ballroom but to try and persuade Putin to end the war against Ukraine.

The Daily Beast reported that Cook already drew criticism for attending the forum, but the Financial Times revealed that the real purpose was a diplomatic mission on behalf of the president. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had no idea what was going on.

Rubio told reporters at the time he was “not aware” that there was a U.S. delegation at the event, much less that there was a covert diplomatic mission.

Rubio currently has two jobs, first as the secretary and another as the interim National Security Advisor. In the capacity of either job, he would normally have been part of the discussions about the mission.

When FT reached out to Cook, he refused to answer any questions about the specific job Trump had tasked him with. They also asked Cook whether he'd be going back any time soon.

“There are many requests,” Cook said. “We’re working on that now.”

It's unclear whether the mission was a direct request from the president, but Cook was sent with a specific message: “Good hello from your friend, President Trump. We have a lot of ideas to talk about between our two capital cities in the next week.”

He was given a diplomatic passport and had official briefings prior to the trip, the report said.

Most of his time was centered around his affection for Russian culture and architecture. He even gave a "lengthy presentation" of his second home in Atlanta, designed using the aesthetic typically seen in Russian Orthodox churches.

The revelation that the Cook was on hand for a "diplomacy-by-flattery" campaign comes 17 months after Trump claimed he would be able to end the war between Ukraine and Russia on "Day One." In fact, Trump went so far as to say that he could likely stop the war before he was sworn in. About six months into his administration, when he was unable to end the war, Trump claimed it was all "an exaggeration."

The atypical envoy concept never worked.

While in Russia, Ukraine launched a drone strike within the Russian border, hitting the oil refinery on the Neva River. Cook said that the attack was too close to feel safe.

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