President Donald Trump wants to prove his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since he broke off ties with his once-upon-a-time close ally Elon Musk, he has filled that void with a closer bond to Vladimir Putin. In June 2013, Trump asked X, “Do you think Putin will attend the Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow? If so, will he become my new best friend?” Months later, during a November 2013 MSNBC interview, Trump declared they had formed a “relationship.”
Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2013
Then the bond became stronger in November 2015 after both the political leaders appeared on 60 Minutes in September of that year. A month later, Putin told reporters in Moscow, “He’s a very lively man, talented without doubt.” Trump also complimented him saying that he’s honored to receive such a great remark from such a respectable man.
Yet, in an awkward turn, Trump denied that he was in the same room as Putin during a July 2016 Florida conference and even claimed he didn’t know who Putin was. Maybe this denial was a classic Trump style denial because of the tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war, where the 79-year-old has been desperately acting as the middleman to end the devastating war that has caused maximum destruction. (via The List).
However, at the 2014 CPAC conference, Trump shared that Putin had gifted him a Russian lacquered box and a warm letter following the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Fast forward to March 2025, and Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov revealed that Trump received a portrait of himself from Putin after an assassination attempt.
Meanwhile, the duo met in Alaska in 2025 for the peace summit. Donald Trump jokingly said he’d autograph it for his “BFF.” Reports suggest that Vladimir Putin wanted to give the POTUS an “American Bald Eagle Desk Statue” during that visit. Both leaders embraced each other as Trump greeted him with a smile during the meeting. He recalled that there was warmth there, a decent feeling.”
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin begin high-stakes talks in Alaska that hold the potential to end the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine and shape the course of security in Europe for a generation. https://t.co/CKyIJxRMNp pic.twitter.com/qPzGMip2K5
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 15, 2025
In 2018, the duo arranged a phone call that became headlines. The President explained the conversation with the Russian leader, stating they had “agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all energy and infrastructure,” as efforts were being made to end the conflict.
Trump posted about it on his social media platform, Truth Social, and proudly boasted that the war would not have started if he were the President. He quoted, “If I were not president, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine, but I am president and he will not mess around with me.” A few days later, Putin agreed that the war would not have begun if the “republicans were in charge.”
Furthermore, in July 2025, Donald Trump unexpectedly claimed that his wife, Melania Trump, was not very happy to hear that he had a great meeting with his BFF Putin and gave a cold reply.”Oh really? Another [Ukrainian] city was just hit,” she added. After this remark, the First Lady wrote a letter to the Russian President in August, talking about the innocent children whose lives were affected due to the war.
.@MELANIATRUMP just sent Putin one of the most nauseatingly fake “peace letters” you’ll ever see. Let’s rip it apart, because it deserves to be set on fire and the earth salted. (THREAD🧵) pic.twitter.com/YAgl5efeHf
— Andrew—#IAmTheResistance—Wortman (@AmoneyResists) August 17, 2025
The letter went viral on social media platforms, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the kind gesture with a thank-you note. While reports suggested that Trump is planning to bring the leaders of both countries together to end the war, his bond with Putin appears as deep as ever.
Yet, you never know, when it comes to convenience and motive, either of them could flip on words like a flipping burger (Trump likes it though) and stun us all.
