Donald Trump received a personal portrait from Russian President Vladimir Putin after loudly criticizing a painting of himself at the Colorado State Capitol.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the portrait is a private gift, but the Kremlin has not provided a photograph. Trump’s spokesperson, Steve Witkoff, called it a “beautiful portrait” by a famous Russian artist and said the president was “clearly touched” by it.
Gift timing aligns with US-Russia negotiations in Saudi Arabia to settle the Ukraine crisis. It also shows Washington-Moscow relations strengthening since Trump’s January return.
In an interview, Witkoff said Putin was “gracious” and prayed for Trump after a failed assassination attempt last year. A widely distributed photo of Trump’s injured ear at a Pennsylvania event on the cover of one of his books.
Trump has commented on another portrait in Colorado, but not Putin’s gift. On Truth Social, he called the 2019 artwork “purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.”
He juxtaposed it with Sarah Boardman’s Barack Obama painting. Trump rare praise: Obama’s image “looked wonderful.”
Trump also called Colorado Governor Jared Polis “radical” and “weak on crime.” The painting was commissioned by a Republican-led crowdfunding initiative and had no relation to Polis, according to media reports.
A Polis aide joked that the governor was “surprised to learn the president is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork.”
