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.
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.
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—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.
