Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Alaska summit may not have been as successful as he had intended. Despite rolling out the red carpet for Putin and giving him extraordinary treatment, the meeting only added to the controversies.
It turns out Trump wanted to give Putin an American Bald Eagle Desk Statue as a grand gesture, along with other things he was doing to make him happy. It’s unclear if the statue ever made it to Putin or if he has wanted to display it in his office in Russia.
Looks like Trump was trying to initiate a cool friendship with Putin, but it didn’t work out for him. The choice of odd presents doesn’t really come as a surprise, as Trump likes gaudy decor. We have seen it in White House makeovers with gold trim that look plastic and cheap.
NPR: Papers with U.S. State Department markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the meetings between Trump and Putin
Incompetent clowns are running the country. pic.twitter.com/6oLosl281a
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 16, 2025
If the statue intended as the gift was gold, it must have looked like a gaudy trinket. Many experts have weighed in with decor changes and even given their advice to Trump to fire the interior designer. One critic added, “It looks so garish and overblown because it hasn’t been articulated or toned.”
Even JD Vance did not support these design choices and termed them a toddler’s decor choice. Another controversial event that happened during the summit was leaving the two leaders’ conversation documentation in the Alaska Hotel printer.
If it had contained anything sensitive, it could have been a security breach. Such an oversight by the officials isn’t the first one. It has happened many times before this year. However, the documents of the summit could contain even more important information, like contacts of US government officials or times and locations of their meetings during the summit.
Pete Hegseth accidentally added a Journalist to a signal group chat that was being used as a command centre for US Military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen.
Here is also Pete Hegseth telling a reporter what he thinks should happen to politicians when they accidentally leak info. pic.twitter.com/0sshlBIsHY
— Bricktop_NAFO (@Bricktop_NAFO) March 24, 2025
Despite the controversy, the White House officials have denied that any sensitive information was leaked. It was noted to be a multi-page lunch menu. This security breach is similar to the one where Mike Waltz accidentally added a journalist to a signal group chat while they were discussing war plans and strikes on Yemen.
Even when the controversy blew up, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not resign. He was criticized by everyone, including the Democrats, who asked him to resign.
