US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are to hold talks on Friday afternoon in Anchorage, Alaska. Trump’s Air Force One earlier landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and set off for the A-list summit.
Piers Morgan Posts Picture on X of Donald Trump Dressed in Knee Pads
During the events unfolding, reporter Piers Morgan shared a picture of Trump on X, adding, “As President @realDonaldTrump arrives in Alaska, I wish him all the very best of luck in attempting to negotiate an end to the abhorrent war in Ukraine. It’s delightful to see an American president who truly prefers peace over war.”
Whereas Morgan’s supportive message was communicated by the caption, it was the image that came with it that elicited widespread attention. The image showed Trump waving from the entrance of Air Force One but with added red knee pads digitally.
Piers Morgan posted a picture of Trump wearing knee pads on his way to meet Putin. (It was quickly deleted.) pic.twitter.com/zSVo8Iy7qQ
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) August 15, 2025
Social Media Reacts to the Photoshop Showing Donald Trump Wearing Knee Pads
Although Morgan quickly deleted the post, screenshots circulated widely on social media, spawning memes and jokes. Users responded humorously.
“Brilliant. Trump meeting with Putin is hard on the knees.” “Trumps gonna be on his knees the entire time.”
“Those are the heavy duty knee pads.” “He has on knee pads. That’s as close to athleticism as this man has ever gotten.”
Piers Morgan Clarifies the Mistake
Piers Morgan later addressed the incident, explaining, “I saw the pic on my feed and mistakenly believed it was a live one, and didn’t spot the mocked up kneepads. I couldn’t understand why so many people were laughing and raging about it. Then I realised, deleted it and reposted with another pic. My words remained the same.”
I saw the pic on my feed and mistakenly believed it was a live one, and didn’t spot the mocked up kneepads. I couldn’t understand why so many people were laughing and raging about it. Then I realised, deleted it and reposted with another pic. My words remained the same… https://t.co/UZ6OKlQ8fx
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 15, 2025
He added separately, “I didn’t see the kneepads on that pic, so just deleted and reposted with a different pic!”
The Photoshop Source Responds
The altered image was created by the X account @PaulleyTicks. After the image went viral, the account clarified. “This is hilarious; Piers Morgan mistakenly posted MY Photoshop of Trump with knee-pads.”
“This is NOT real, MAGAts – it’s called PARODY. Thank you,” @PaulleyTicks added.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
