Donald Trump receives gift from Vladimir Putin: What did the Russian leader give him?

President Donald Trump has slowly been meeting and establishing relationships with fellow world leaders.

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He has yet to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and given the current circumstances a in-person reunion may be unlikely. However, given their reported friendship, that has not soured despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, it has been reported that The Russian President has gifted the POTUS a commissioned painting of Trump.

This isn’t the first time Putin has offered gifts to US presidents. Indeed, in 2021, Putin gave Biden a $12,000 lacquer writing box and pen. In 2013, he gave Obama porcelain plates and espresso cups.

It also isn’t the first portrait Putin has gifted. In 2014, he allegedly gave George H.W. Bush a portrait of himself for his 90th birthday, according to AP News.

Donald Trump gifted a portrait of himself

As mentioned above, Vladimir commissioned a portrait of Donald Trump as a gift. The Russian President gave the portrait to Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, when he was in Moscow earlier this month.

According to AP News, Witkoff told Tucker Carlson in an interview that President Trump, whose shoes recently went viral, ‘was clearly touched’ by the portrait and described the painting as ‘beautiful’.

The portrait is one of many gifts that Putin has given Trump. In 2018, Vladimir Putin gifted Trump a football. According to AP News, the football was then checked over by the Secret Service to ensure it didn’t have any listening devices. Eventually, the football was given to Trump’s son, Barron.

The checks were carried out due to a gift given in 1945, which had been bugged and allowed the Soviet Union to listen in on conversations.

So far, the White House has not commented on Putin’s gift to Trump.

In the meantime, while President Donald Trump has received one portrait of himself, another has been trashed after he criticised it.

Donald Trump demands a portrait of himself be removed

It has been reported that President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to slam a portrait of himself that has been displayed in the Colorado Capitol.

As reported by The Guardian, the POTUS claimed the portrait chosen for the Colorado Capitol is ‘truly the worst’. Moreover, Trump blamed the situation on Colorado’s governor, Jared Polis, whom he has claimed is ‘radically left’.

In his post, Trump claimed he would prefer not to have a picture in the building instead of the one chosen. His post was swiftly followed by another sharing images of himself he deemed acceptable. He also said the Colorado governor ‘should be ashamed of himself’.

I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.

Following Donald Trump’s complaints, the portrait – which was commissioned by a Republican admirer of Trump – has been removed. It has been replaced by a portrait ‘that depicts his contemporary likeness’, according to Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen.

Donald Trump’s critics have expressed their opinion on the situation, claiming that the POTUS is acting ‘petty’ over a portrait.

Former Republican attorney Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of the liberal news website MeidasTouch Network, wrote on X that Trump was ‘the most fragile, sensitive snowflake in history’.