Trump Hangs Putin Portrait in White House Palm Room Above Granddaughter’s Photo, Sparking Global Outrage

A framed photo of President Donald Trump standing next to Russian leader Vladimir Putin now hangs in the White House Palm Room. The image was taken by Bloomberg photographer Kent Nishimura and was spotted on Tuesday as Trump returned to Washington.

The Palm Room sits between the West Wing and the residence. It is usually a quiet lobby space for visitors, but this week it drew attention after the new bright white decor and a flashy chandelier were shown in photos.

The Putin picture sits directly above a photo of Trump with his youngest granddaughter. That pairing made the display feel less like a gallery and more like a message board.

The photo of Putin and Trump was taken at an August 2025 summit in Anchorage, Alaska. That meeting drew heavy criticism at the time for giving Putin a red carpet welcome even though he remains widely accused of war crimes over the war in Ukraine.

Not everyone was pleased. Marko Mihkelson, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in Estonia, wrote on social media, “If it is true that the U.S. president considers it appropriate to hang on the White House wall a photo of the greatest war criminal of the 21st century, then a just and sustainable peace will have to wait. Unfortunately.”

The new display is the latest in a string of bold decoration choices by Trump. In his first term he placed a photo of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in the West Wing, a move that seemed to delight his supporters and alarm his critics.

He has also moved official portraits of former presidents out of prominent spots. Official photos of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and George H. W. Bush were moved to a less visible stairwell, a change reported last year that prompted questions about respect for presidential traditions.

Across the colonnade the White House now features what staffers call a Presidential Walk of Fame. The display shows portraits of past presidents but omits a normal portrait of Joe Biden. Instead a picture of an autopen signature appears in Biden’s frame, a tweak Reuters described as an obvious dig.

The Putin photo also ties to a larger idea pushed by the Trump team this month. Trump invited Putin to join a so called Board of Peace, and the Kremlin said the invitation arrived through diplomatic channels. As a spokesperson put it, “President Putin also received through diplomatic channels an invitation to join this Board of Peace.”

To many observers the new Palm Room photo is about more than taste. It is a signal about what the president values and what he wants visitors to notice when they walk through the house that is supposed to belong to all Americans.

Featured image via X screengrab