Trump compares himself to Richard Nixon as he posts Putin meeting pic suggesting a Cold War-style faceoff
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump compared himself to Richard Nixon in a social media post Thursday, August 21, sharing an image from his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he implied echoed Nixon’s Cold War confrontation with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
The post drew scrutiny after a video of the Alaska meeting showed what CNN host Erin Burnett described as a “pretty friendly” exchange, a stark contrast to the combative scene Trump appeared to suggest.
Trump likens himself to Richard Nixon in Putin meeting image
Trump posted a black-and-white photo of himself pointing a finger at Putin during their meeting last week in Alaska, alongside an image of Nixon making a similar gesture toward Khrushchev in 1959.
Nixon’s exchange took place during a fiery debate over capitalism and communism, years before he became the only US president to resign following the Watergate scandal.
CNN noted the Trump-Putin moment lacked visible tension. “It looked pretty friendly,” Burnett said Thursday on 'OutFront', countering Trump’s portrayal of the encounter as confrontational.
"Perhaps Trump is now realizing that Putin isn't listening to him, because right now, Trump is trying to save face, posting on social media these two photos. The first Trump, pointing a finger at Putin and then the second, then Vice President Richard Nixon pointing his finger at then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev," Burnett said.
She further added, "Now, just to put this in context, we know what Nixon was saying to the Soviet leader. Then the two had publicly sparred, repeatedly, had sparred about one of the most core things to what America is about, authoritarianism and communism versus democracy and capitalism. And you see them in that image surrounded by reporters and others in that photo."
"Now, Trump has never sparred with Putin publicly. Theres been no record of that in any way. He's never referred to anything privately, and there is no press in their photo. The only other person present there is Putin's translator, that you can see," the CNN host stated.
"And, well, if you want to judge anything by the smirk on Putin's face, who knows if you can. But he certainly doesn't look intimidated.And judging by the video put out by the Kremlin of the same three men the same day, around the same time, it all looked pretty friendly, right? It all looked pretty friendly in that moment."
Trump’s post came hours after Russian drones struck a factory in Ukraine owned by an American company.
Russian officials claimed the facility was part of “the Ukrainian military-industrial complex,” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it produced electronics and “nothing military.”
Trump calls Putin after hosting Zelensky and European leaders
Three days after meeting Putin, Trump welcomed Zelensky and European leaders to the White House. Axios reported Trump raised the idea of a trilateral summit and phoned Putin during the event.
One source said Trump discussed the trilateral summit idea in his meeting with Zelensky and the European leaders.
"He said he wants to talk about it with Putin and that he wants to do it soon, but didn’t mention a date or location," the outlet reported.
