US President Donald Trump appeared to struggle walking in a straight line as he approached Russian President Vladimir Putin for a highly anticipated meeting in Anchorage on Friday.
The moment, captured by cameras, came just minutes after both leaders landed in Alaska for what is being described as a pivotal and high-risk diplomatic engagement.
In the video, a visibly unsteady Trump walks down the red carpet. The footage, which appears to be slightly fast-forwarded, shows the US President swaying—at one moment veering to the left, and the next swerving to the right as he approaches Putin.
The video quickly went viral on social media.
The summit marks the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Putin since Trump began his second term as President. The meeting, held amid frigid geopolitical tensions, is expected to centre on potential pathways to resolving the ongoing war in Ukraine — a conflict that has drawn global concern and deepened rifts between Russia and the West.
Trump, who referred to the event as a “feel-out meeting”, suggested the purpose was to assess Putin’s intentions and approach. “I would walk,” he told Fox News on Friday, underscoring that he is prepared to end the conversation abruptly if talks do not proceed favourably.
The US President has previously been criticised for his unpredictable diplomatic style, and observers are closely watching whether the Anchorage talks signal any meaningful shift in US-Russia relations.
