Russian President Vladimir Putin kept U.S. President Donald Trump waiting for over an hour before their scheduled phone call about the Ukraine-Russia war. The two leaders finally spoke on Tuesday for an hour and a half, but Putin refused Trump’s request for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. Instead, he only agreed to limit attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.
However, what caught more attention on social media wasn’t the outcome of the call but the fact that Putin made Trump wait for more than 60 minutes.
Putin ‘Humiliates’ Trump: Before the phone call, Putin was at an event where he was filmed laughing off a reminder about being late. The Russian president was speaking to industrialists and businessmen at a Moscow event. The call was scheduled to happen between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Russian time on Tuesday.
A little after 4 p.m., the host reminded Putin that he was getting late for the call. Putin was seen smirking and shrugging. According to reports, he didn’t reach the Kremlin until around 5 p.m., an hour later than planned. The footage of this moment quickly spread on social media.
Putin is meant to be speaking to Trump around now, but he is talking to a room full of oligarchs instead. Asked if he's going to be late, Putin waves off the question and says not to listen to his spokesman pic.twitter.com/LDTU8BNQAr
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 18, 2025
Many saw this as a “humiliation” for Donald Trump and a display of Putin’s power. “Making leaders wait is a classic Putin power move. But this was really harsh,” said one user on X. Another added, “While speaking to a room full of oligarchs, the host asks if he’s going to be late. Putin shrugs. He completely humiliated Donald Trump.”
Some saw this as a clear sign of who had control in the situation. “Putin played Trump like a fiddle! He had no intention of agreeing to a real ceasefire. He limited his agreement to energy targets and refused military or intelligence help for Ukraine, or for Ukraine to join NATO,” one user wrote.
Also read: JFK Assassination Files Finally Unleashed: Shocking Revelations You Won’t Believe.
