At a summit in Alaska that was technically about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but mostly about Donald Trump admiring himself, the former president spent several minutes praising a photo of him standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it “a nice picture of him” and only “okay” of himself.
“I was just sent a picture from somebody that wants to be there very badly,” Trump told the crowd Friday, apparently forgetting that the picture was not a rare discovery but an image of him shaking hands with a man currently waging war against U.S. allies. “It’s a man named Vladimir Putin, who I believe will be coming, depending on what happens. I thought it was a nice picture of him.”
Trump, who has repeatedly described the Russian leader as “very respectful” of him while sidestepping that Putin is less respectful of neighboring countries he invades, told supporters he planned to sign the photo, not for a world leader, but for himself. The gesture was received with applause, though it was unclear whether the audience understood they were clapping for an American president openly fan-girling over an adversary.
The moment came just days after Trump had set an August 8 deadline for Putin to end the war in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Instead of sanctions, however, Trump agreed to meet Putin on U.S. soil, where the Russian president offered no concessions other than possibly giving back “relatively small pieces” of Ukrainian territory, a move international observers described as akin to a burglar offering to return one of the socks he stole.
Despite Russia’s refusal to meaningfully shift its demands, Trump continued to frame the encounter as a success, focusing less on foreign policy outcomes and more on the flattering lighting in the photo. “Okay of me, but nice of him,” Trump reiterated, demonstrating the rare ability to transform a geopolitical crisis into a discussion about whether his side profile looked presidential.
Analysts say the episode encapsulates Trump’s foreign policy approach: impose a deadline, cave to demands, then praise himself for being in the same picture as a man sanctioned by much of the democratic world.
The Alaska summit ended without breakthroughs on Ukraine, sanctions, or energy policy, but with Trump’s repeated assurance that he had secured “a very nice picture.”
