President Donald Trump has been accused of attempting to assert his authority during a handshake with President Vladimir Putin.
One Twitter user shared a video of the interaction with the caption: “President Trump DOES THE YANK HANDSHAKE! He pulled in Putin’s hand! I VOTED FOR THIS!!”
Another individual commented: “Trump just asserted dominance before the meeting even started.”
The purpose of their meeting is to address the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe. This is a matter that the 79-year-old President of the United States has been advocating for since he returned to office in January. Despite providing additional motivations for engagement, his efforts have yet to yield results.
Each time Trump has urged Putin to engage in talks to resolve the conflict, the 72-year-old Russian leader has responded with intensified attacks on Ukraine.
The former business mogul has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation and has issued several warnings.
When queried earlier today about his ability to persuade Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian civilians, Trump admitted uncertainty about his influence.
Trump stated: “I’ll tell you what. I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets.”
“So, I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation. I want to end the war. It’s Biden’s war, but I want to end it.”
“I’ll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended. But, I guess the answer to that is probably no.”
During an interaction with reporters aboard Air Force One before the meeting, Trump was asked about the potential repercussions for Russia if Putin showed no interest in discussing an end to the war in Ukraine.
“Economically severe. It will be very severe,” he replied. “I’m not doing this for my health, okay, I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country, but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives.”
“Yeah, very severe.”
While Trump didn’t specify the penalties Russia would face if it squandered his time, he added: “I don’t have to say. There will be very severe consequences.”
More updates to follow.