Piers Morgan Accidentally Trolls Trump With Doctored Image Before Putin Summit
Morgan didn’t spot the doctored detail when wishing the president well ahead of the meeting.
X/PaulleyTicks
Piers Morgan’s attempt to wish President Donald Trump well ahead of his summit with Vladimir Putin didn’t go as planned.
While the British broadcaster praised the president in an X post Friday morning as someone who “genuinely prefers peace to war,” the image he attached sent quite a different message.
The altered photograph, created by X user @PaulleyTicks, showed Trump waving atop the steps of Air Force One—while sporting big, red kneepads.
I saw the pic on my feed and mistakenly believed it was a live one, and didn’t spot the mocked up kneepads. I couldn’t understand why so many people were laughing and raging about it. Then I realised, deleted it and reposted with another pic. My words remained the same… https://t.co/UZ6OKlQ8fx
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 15, 2025
Morgan soon deleted the post, and explained in a follow-up message that he didn’t see the mockingly Photoshopped protective wear at first. He then reposted his original sentiment with another photograph—this one lifted from Fox News’ X account.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
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Trump’s meeting with his Russian counterpart is taking place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the first in-person meeting between Putin and a U.S. president since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump greets Putin on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Trump—who repeatedly pledged during the 2024 presidential campaign that he would end the Russia-Ukraine War within 24 hours of taking office or even sooner—said on the flight to Alaska Friday that he would “not be happy” if Putin didn’t agree to stop the hostilities against its neighbor.
The president told Fox News aboard Air Force One that he might “walk” if the meeting was unsatisfactory.
“We’re going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska,” Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier. “And I think it’s going to work out very well, and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast.”
Hours later, Trump warmly welcomed Putin onto U.S. soil with a military flyover, a stroll on the red carpet, and a private ride together in The Beast, Trump’s presidential limousine. The president also clapped for Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, as the Russian leader approached him.
Not included in the talks is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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