Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented a portrait of former US President Donald Trump to Trump himself, as confirmed by Kremlin officials. The painting was given to Trump’s special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, during a visit to Moscow earlier this month, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Putin. Witkoff mentioned the gift during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, stating that Trump was visibly moved by the portrait, describing it as “beautiful.” The meeting between Witkoff and Putin took place in the context of discussions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Witkoff described the gift as “gracious” and shared that Putin had expressed prayers for Trump when he learned that Trump, then a presidential candidate, had been shot during a rally in Pennsylvania the previous year. This gesture of friendship was reported by the Associated Press. Putin has a history of using religious references to establish rapport with US Republican Presidents, as seen in his interactions with former President George W. Bush.
In a separate incident, Putin had given a portrait to George H.W. Bush on his 90th birthday in 2014. Additionally, Putin had once gifted Trump a football, which was thoroughly checked by the secret service for any listening devices before being presented to Trump’s son. Trump recently criticized an artist for displaying an allegedly unflattering portrait of him at the State Capitol in Colorado, demanding its removal. On the social media platform TruthSocial, Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the portrayal, contrasting it with a favorable portrait of former President Barack Obama by the same artist. Trump urged Governor Jared Polis to take down the painting, claiming it was intentionally distorted and unsatisfactory.