Did Putin send a ‘body double’ to meet with Trump in Alaska?

While US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin couldn’t reach an agreement at the end of their meeting in Alaska on Friday (15 August), many social media users have agreed that the American emerged from the talks as the losing party.

The two leaders met to discuss bringing about a ceasefire in Ukraine after more than three years of fighting – something Trump promised he would have sorted on his first day as president for the second time.

But, at a press conference held after almost three hours of discussions, Trump told reporters that they “didn’t get there” in terms of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but that the talks were “very productive”.

He said: “We've made some headway. So there's no deal until there's a deal.

“I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I'll, of course, call up President Zelensky and tell him about today's meeting.

“We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to. There are just a very few that are left.

“Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”

Meanwhile, Putin said of the meeting: “We’re convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict.

“And we've said it multiple times, to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on the whole.

“And I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we are prepared to work on that.”

However, as social media users continue to discuss just how well – or rather, badly – the talks in Alaska went, a conspiracy theory is circulating around whether it was actually Putin who showed up:

Reasons offered up by Twitter/X users include Putin having a “huge round head”:

Putin “never” being “this animated”:

His facial expressions:

And the “smooth forehead”:

Putin himself has denied using body doubles, telling Russian news outlet TACC in February 2020 that “[the idea] arose” in the early 2000s, but he “refused doubles”.

“It was in the most difficult times of the fight against terrorism,” he said.

Why not read…

• Trump’s ‘day one’ promise to Americans has been completely exposed
• 8 memes by Trump's government that prove administration is 'unserious'

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