Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a church to pray for Donald Trump following the assassination attempt on the US president, according to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. Speaking on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, Witkoff shared insights into the developing relationship between the two leaders and the potential for renewed diplomatic engagement between the United States and Russia.
During the conversation, Witkoff revealed that Putin held a private prayer after the assassination attempt on Trump during the Butler rally in the lead up to the US elections. “He went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president,” Witkoff said. “Not because he (Trump) could become the President of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him.”
Witkoff further disclosed that during one of his visits to Moscow, Putin had commissioned a portrait of Trump from a leading Russian artist and asked him to personally deliver it to the president. “It was such a gracious moment,” he recalled, noting that Trump was visibly touched by the gesture.
On Trump’s diplomatic approach toward Putin
Reflecting on the broader US-Russia relationship, Witkoff talked about Trump’s diplomatic approach toward Moscow. “President Trump sent a signal to President Putin that he wanted to resume his relationship together and that they were going to be two great leaders figuring out this conflict,” he said, referring to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation, that war and all the ingredients that led up to it. You know, it’s never just one person,” Witkoff told Carlson.
According to Witkoff, Trump had tasked him with delivering a message of engagement to Putin. “We were here to begin a real discussion, a productive discussion about how to end this conflict,” he explained. Putin, he said, responded positively, sending “all kinds of signals” back to Trump that he was open to such negotiations.
Witkoff also touched on what he described as efforts to prevent Americans from hearing alternative perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “How would we settle a conflict with someone who is the head of a major nuclear power unless we establish trust and good feelings with one another?” he asked.
Carlson, who has previously travelled to Russia to interview Putin, agreed, stating that censorship had played a role in shaping public perception. “Everything you’ve just said about Russia, Ukraine—any fair person will acknowledge that’s true. But why the effort to prevent Americans from hearing the other side?” Carlson questioned.
Witkoff suggested that Trump’s approach to foreign policy was fundamentally different from his predecessors, arguing that Trump’s leadership had encouraged more engagement from adversaries. “The Russians want to engage with us once again because we have a real decision maker,” he said. “We’ve got real leadership, and the world needed leadership.”