EditTrump’s endless surprises: Putin photo in the White House and Fico’s ‘shock’ after Mar-a-Lago
Is the U.S. President "dangerous"? Slovak PM Robert Fico privately warned EU leaders after meeting Trump, Politico reports
The decoration was first pointed out publicly by PBS News journalist Elizabeth Landers, who said it was displayed “in a vestibule area that connects the West Wing to the residence”.
The photo shows Trump and Putin at their bilateral summit in Alaska on 15 August 2025, where the two leaders met in Anchorage. It was their first face-to-face encounter during Trump’s current term in office and the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and the Kremlin leader since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump welcomed Putin warmly in Alaska, rolling out a red carpet for the Russian leader despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and allegations of war crimes committed by Russian forces. According to media reports at the time, the meeting included a lengthy historical lecture by Putin, which reportedly irritated the U.S. president, EUalive’s partner European Pravda repors.
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The decision to prominently display the photograph inside the White House has attracted attention given the continued diplomatic isolation of Moscow by most Western governments and the symbolic weight attached to official imagery in presidential spaces.
The episode comes amid renewed unease among European leaders over Trump’s leadership style, concerns that surfaced during recent closed-door discussions in Brussels.
According to Politico, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told fellow EU leaders last week that a meeting with Trump had left him alarmed. Speaking on the sidelines of an emergency EU summit in Brussels, Fico reportedly raised concerns about the U.S. president’s psychological state following a face-to-face meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on 17 January.
Five European diplomats briefed on the exchange told Politico that Fico described Trump as “dangerous”, citing how the U.S. president came across during their conversation. The remarks were made during an informal huddle between several leaders and senior EU officials, rather than during the summit’s formal roundtable discussions.
None of the diplomats who spoke to Politico were present at the original exchange, but each said they had been briefed separately by leaders who had taken part. All were granted anonymity to discuss confidential conversations. They said they did not know which specific comments by Trump had triggered Fico’s reaction.
The comments were seen as striking given Fico’s reputation as one of Europe’s most openly pro-Trump leaders. He has frequently highlighted his access to the U.S. president and has voiced support for Washington’s approach to the war in Ukraine. Last year, Fico addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in the U.S., telling the audience that Trump was “doing Europe a great service”.
Following the Politico report, Fico rejected the account in a post on X, saying he “must emphatically reject the lies” about how he assessed his meeting with Trump. He insisted that he did not speak at the informal summit in Brussels and said there were no witnesses to support the claims.
Fico said he agreed with many of Trump’s strategies, though not all of them, and added that he had expected his U.S. visit to be cancelled after making a sharp statement on Venezuela. The fact that it went ahead, he said, made him appreciate the meeting with Trump even more.
The White House also dismissed the report. Spokesperson Anna Kelly described it as “absolutely total fake news from anonymous European diplomats” and said the meeting at Mar-a-Lago had been positive and productive. A senior administration official present at the meeting said they could not recall any awkward moments and described the discussion as pleasant and normal, with some light-hearted exchanges.
Despite the denials, European officials are increasingly concerned about Trump’s unpredictability. Several diplomats told Politico that worries about the U.S. president’s behaviour and health are becoming a more frequent topic of discussion within EU institutions and national capitals.
Caption: A combo picture shared in a post on X by PBS News journalist Elizabeth Landers
Updated: January 29, 2026 - 07:34
