Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is using a flattering work of art to curry favour with the White House.
A portrait of US President Donald Trump in heroic pose, painted by Russian artist Nikas Safronov and given to the American president in March, was unveiled by CNN and the Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
The Kremlin’s gift portrait was inspired by the iconic image of then candidate Trump with fist raised and face bloodied, moments after the assassination attempt on him last year at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The details of the portrait – which Putin presented last month to Washington’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff – had been something of a mystery.
Even White House aides preferred to say as little as possible. All that was known was that Trump was “clearly touched by it”, Witkoff said in an interview.