President Donald Trump's envoy sparked outrage for "sucking up" to Russian leader Vladimir Putin with plans to reminisce about their meeting.
On Saturday, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow to meet with Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. At one point during their meeting, Witkoff told Putin that their meeting would be a special memory later in life.
"President Putin, thank you so much for having us. We were sitting outside just now," Witkoff said, referring to himself, Kushner and their Russian counterparts. "We were talking about, when we retire, we'll have all these incredible stories and memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all."
The remarks were met with condemnation on X as people pointed out Putin's record as Russian leader and what's going on in Ukraine.
"This to a man launching ballistic missiles at maternity hospitals and stealing Ukrainian children en masse," wrote former National Security Council spokesman and political podcaster Tommy Vietor. "Humiliating bootlicking."
"I never thought I'd see the day where America acted so weak," reacted Ukraine-based journalist Jay Beecher. "But here they are, sucking up to a mass-murdering Russian dictator who happens to also be helping Iran to kill American troops."
"Steve Witkoff addresses his true love, the war criminal," summed up economist Michael MacKay.
Economist Lars Christensen called Witkoff's comments a "disgrace."
Military tech blogger and Kash Patel-foe Jim Stewartson called the meeting between Witkoff, Kushner, and Putin a "combination of treason, conflict of interest, and sheer corruption never seen at this level of geopolitics," in his reaction to the comments.
"It'll be an incredible memory for us all," joked British war studies lecturer Ruth Deyermond. "The time the US president sent two of his closest, if least competent, aides to flatter the autocrat responsible for an unprovoked war against a neighbour and the murder of many thousands of its citizens. In front of the world's cameras."
