US Troops Kneel Down To Roll Out Red Carpet For Putin, Pic Goes Viral

US President Donald Trump left no pomp and show to give a grand welcome to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The American leader's effusive reaction on seeing the Russian president certainly stood in stark contrast to his welcome of any other world leader. The two men were meeting for the first time, face-to-face, since 2018, and the bonhomie was on full display. 

Trump, fond of calling himself a master deal-maker, rolled out the red carpet for Putin at an Alaska air base, in what was the first time the Russian leader was allowed on Western soil since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The American waited patiently for his Russian "friend" Putin at the tarmac. He kept clapping as Putin approached him, before giving him a warm handshake upon meeting him, and exchanged warm smiles.

But in Ukraine, which was counting on Trump to pave the way for peace, one image from Trump and Putin's meeting went viral. It showed US soldiers kneeling at the end of the staircase wheeled out for the Russian leader's from his presidential plane. The American soldiers appear to be straightening the red carpet rolled out for Putin.

Taking a dig at the scene, Mustafa Nayyem, former head of Ukraine's State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, posted the picture and captioned it: "Make kneeling great again."

Make Kneeling Great Again pic.twitter.com/dqtZLxKhBK

— Mustafa Nayyem (@mefimus) August 15, 2025

Trump-Putin Meeting

Trump and Putin made no apparent breakthrough on Ukraine in a high-stakes summit, pointing to areas of agreement and rekindling a friendship but offering no news on a ceasefire.

🤝 The President of Russia Vladimir #Putin was welcomed by @POTUS.

The two Leaders walked along a red carpet past the guard of honour and posed for an official photograph.#RussiaUSA pic.twitter.com/KXD4FmQbSN

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) August 15, 2025

After three hours of talks with top aides, Trump and Putin offered warm words but took no questions from reporters -- highly unusual for the media-savvy US president.

"We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to," Trump said.

Why was Trump clapping for Putin? pic.twitter.com/Wcgkjti8Zw

— Pekka Kallioniemi (@P_Kallioniemi) August 15, 2025

"There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant," Trump said without elaborating.

Trump said the onus was now on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to build on the Alaska summit between the US leader and Russia's President Vladimir Putin and secure a deal to end Russia's three-year invasion.

"Now it's really up to President Zelensky to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it's up to President Zelensky," Trump told Fox News after the summit, saying he rated the meeting as ten out of ten.