US President Donald Trump has been gifted a new portrait from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin – while decrying an existing painting of him as “truly the worst”.
The new portrait has not been shown publicly. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as a “personal gift”, adding that only Putin himself had the right to disclose further details.
Meanwhile, Trump took to his Truth Social network to criticise an earlier picture of him that hangs in the Colorado State Capitol building.
The US president has paid close attention to cultivating his image, and made headlines in January by unveiling an official portrait that was variously described by critics as serious or ominous.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed receipt of the new work from Moscow, saying he had been asked to transport it back to Washington.
He described the work as a painting – a “beautiful portrait” by a “leading Russian artist” – but gave no further critique. Trump was “clearly touched by it”, he added.
The gift was confirmed by Peskov, as American and Russian negotiators again sat down for talks in Saudi Arabia as part of Trump’s drive to end the war in Ukraine.
The gift highlights the diplomatic thaw between the two nations after Trump returned to the White House in January.
In an interview, Witkoff – who met Putin 10 days ago – said the Russian president had been “gracious”. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year.
Trump is yet to publicly comment of the image that was sent by Putin – but he left no doubt of the kind of portraiture he liked and disliked when delivering his views on the Colorado image.
The painting, which was presented to the building in 2019, was “purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before”, he wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning.
Trump reportedly lost up to 30lb (13.6kg) during last year’s presidential campaign. He told reporters he had been “so busy” he had not “been able to eat very much”.
The Republican also used the portrait to make a political point – painting Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, as “radical” and “extremely weak on crime”.
But the portrait had nothing to do with Polis, US media pointed out. It was instead the result of a crowdfunding campaign that was launched by a Republican. The portrait was reportedly commissioned to fill an empty space that had briefly been filled with an image of Vladimir Putin by a prankster. – James FitzGerald for BBC.
PUTIN, the master of mind games. Any painting surely looks better than the Garbage Man? Or what about the AI Trump Gaza Jubba the Hutt dancing with the scantily clad belly dancer? Along came Ozempic and, poof, so long double chin Jabba, amphetamines also work a treat. Can’t wait to see the Russian painting, no doubt he will unveil it to the world. Probably going to hang it in the Oval Office next to Washington and Lincoln. I wouldn’t rule out some high tech spy gadget accompanying the artwork.
Pentagon Pete ‘the DUI hire’ Hegseth, used the Signal App in a group chat and accidentally included a journalist in the top secret military discussions. Classified information on when, where, how, and with what America was going to attack Yemen. The Chinese and Russians must be licking their lips.
Windswept fake tan line DT is not a photoshopped image. Photographer William Moon.
Mar 25, 2025 12:52:02 am
