Kremlin Releases Backstage Footage to Undermine Trump After Alaska Summit
“Putin is a master manipulator as well as a war criminal, and the Kremlin knows exactly what it’s doing when it releases video designed to embarrass an American president.”
Moscow Moves Faster Than Washington
The Kremlin has released behind-the-scenes footage of President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin following their three-hour meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. The state-run broadcaster Russia Today (RT) published the clip within hours of the summit, portraying Trump in a deferential posture toward Putin. In the video, Trump can be seen laughing, leaning in, and initiating an exaggerated handshake with both hands clasped around Putin’s. He later extended the same courtesy to Putin’s translator, the only other person present. The release stands in contrast to the White House’s heavily staged clips of the visit, which notably omit candid moments between the two leaders.
The timing was deliberate. Russian outlets have dominated the narrative of the Alaska meeting, pushing out details before the White House has responded. It was the Kremlin, not Washington, that first announced the joint press conference, the length of the talks, and now this backstage video.
No Deal, No Transparency
Despite Trump’s earlier campaign pledge to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on “day one” of his return to the White House, the Anchorage summit ended without a breakthrough. Standing side by side at a podium, Trump and Putin offered brief remarks but refused to take questions.
“We spoke very sincerely. I think he wants to see it done,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity later that evening, adding that he had “alone time” with Putin after the press conference. But neither side has provided details of substantive progress, and Ukraine was left out of the narrative.
What is clear is that Trump went to great lengths to flatter Putin. Before talks began, he invited the Russian president into “the Beast,” his armored limousine, for a ride from the Anchorage tarmac. The White House has highlighted the red-carpet arrival, but avoided showing the candid handshakes and chatter Russia was quick to circulate.
Optics and Power Play
Experts say the Kremlin’s rapid release of the video is part of a strategy: frame Trump as submissive, show Putin as dominant, and control the optics of the summit. The handshake alone speaks volumes. In diplomacy, physical gestures carry weight, and Trump’s two-handed clasp signaled deference more than parity. Analysts noted the irony of Russia defining the visual story of a meeting hosted on U.S. soil. The clip is only the latest example of Moscow moving faster than Washington to shape perception. By pushing out curated images and video, Russia highlights its ability to weaponize optics leaving the U.S. reacting, not leading.
A Familiar Pattern
Trump has long boasted of his personal rapport with Putin, often at odds with U.S. intelligence findings and bipartisan warnings about Russia’s aggression. But critics argue that the Alaska meeting again demonstrated Trump’s vulnerability: he is eager for friendship with Putin, while Putin leverages that eagerness for advantage.
“Every gesture, every word matters in geopolitics,” one foreign policy analyst told South Florida Media. “The Kremlin knows exactly what it’s doing — and Trump either doesn’t see it or doesn’t care.”
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the world is left with little more than red carpets, staged smiles, and Kremlin-approved video clips. And once again, Vladimir Putin, a man widely recognized as a war criminal, appears to be writing the script.
