MS NOW’s Jacqueline Alemany on Thursday shared images from the Palm Room showing ornate framed photographs, one of the president with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and another with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hanging beside a doorway.
The prominent display of Trump alongside Putin and Xi, whose governments have been accused of extensive human rights abuses and political repression, sparked a fierce response on social media.
Even GOP strategist Brittany Martinez condemned it, writing: “Republican or Democrat, no U.S. president should display framed photos of dictators in the White House. It’s an insult to the democratic values that office is supposed to represent.”
Conspicuously absent from the wall? North Korean despot Kim Jong Un.
Trump has, however, reportedly found wall space for Kim in the past.
JS White House correspondent S.V. Dáte previously reported that a Trump-Kim snap hung in the West Wing during his first term. The picture was later moved to the bar inside Trump Tower in New York.