This photo of Trump and Putin is hanging in the White House

In January 2026, a rumor circulated online that a photograph of U.S. President Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin hung in the White House above a photo of Trump with one of his grandchildren. 

The images spread across multiple platforms (archived, archived), sparking backlash from critics online who have long accused Trump of aligning himself too closely with Putin, particularly during Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The images first began circulating after PBS’ White House correspondent Elizabeth Landers posted two photos on X (archived), writing: 

Also something I noticed in a vestibule area that connects the West Wing to the residence that I hadn’t see before: a framed photo of Presidents Trump and Putin at their summer summit in Alaska. Lower photo is President Trump with one of his grandchildren.

The images Landers posted authentically depict a photograph of Trump and Putin hanging in the White House. The photo, which is visible on the White House website, was taken during a historic meeting between the two leaders in Alaska on Aug. 15, 2025. 

Landers wasn’t the only person to document the photograph’s presence in the White House. A photo taken by Bloomberg photographer Kent Nishimura is publicly available on Getty Images.

The “vestibule area” Landers referenced was the White House’s newly renovated Palm Room. A photo of the Palm Room on Getty Images displayed the same latticed wall texture seen in Landers’ images:

(Getty Images)

We wrote to the White House seeking confirmation that the rumor was true. In response, a White House Official emailed the following statement:

There is nothing unusual for the White House to hang up photos around the complex of the President’s public meetings and events. There are photos of several other instances when the President Trump met with world leaders. The photos around the complex are constantly updated and rotated as new photos are captured.

Trump also posted photos of the renovated Palm Room in December 2025, including one that featured the photo of him and Putin:

(Truth Social user @realDonaldTrump)

The photo below the one of Trump and Putin shows the U.S. president with his granddaughter Carolina Trump. Several similar photos of the two attending the NASCAR Daytona 500 race in February 2025 appeared in news stories about the event and others are publicly available on Getty Images.

Sources