--- title: Putin and Trump: Smiles and a Thumbs Up at WWI Ceremony description: Trump and Putin shared an oddly warm greeting during a ceremony marking the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I. canonical: https://time.com/5451539/putin-trump-thumbs-up-paris-wwi-commemoration/ author: Alejandro de la Garza article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-11T17:41:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:05.497Z article:section: Politics og:title: Putin and President Trump: Smiles and a Thumbs Up at Paris World War I Commemoration og:description: The internet thinks the pair greeted each other more like old friends than competing world leaders og:url: https://time.com/5451539/putin-trump-thumbs-up-paris-wwi-commemoration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22819398e4b3c894/69893ec04ee2624e9831352f/trump-smiles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3437 og:image:height: 1933 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-FRANCE-WWI-POLITICS-HISTORY-CENTENARY-DIPLOMACY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Putin and President Trump: Smiles and a Thumbs Up at Paris World War I Commemoration twitter:description: The internet thinks the pair greeted each other more like old friends than competing world leaders twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22819398e4b3c894/69893ec04ee2624e9831352f/trump-smiles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Putin and President Trump: Smiles and a Thumbs Up at Paris World War I Commemoration > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: President Trump Meets with President Vladimir Putin for the First Time [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Meets with President Vladimir Putin for the First Time](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oymS0c6P.m3u8) (2:23)  _Published 2017-07-07. President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in their first ever one-on-one meeting at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany._  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Nov 11, 2018 5:41 PM UTC  US First Lady Melania Trump, US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and French President's wife Brigitte Macron react as Russian President Vladimir Putin (front C) arrives to attend a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on November 11, 2018. US First Lady Melania Trump, US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and French President's wife Brigitte Macron react as Russian President Vladimir Putin (front C) arrives to attend a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on November 11, 2018. Getty Images  by [Alejandro de la Garza](https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Nov 11, 2018 5:41 PM UTC President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin shared an oddly warm greeting during a ceremony marking the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I on Sunday. The internet seems to think the pair greeted each other more like old friends than competing world leaders. Trump, Putin and dozens of fellow world leaders gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris to commemorate the over 8 million people who died in World War I, which ended 100 years ago on Sunday. French President Emmanuel Macron led the ceremonies, [warning of the continued danger of unchecked nationalism](http://time.com/5451493/nationalism-macron-trump-world-war-i-summit/) in a speech. Trump smiled upon seeing Putin, a reaction that stood out among the relatively grim faces of other nearby world leaders Emmanuel Macron of France and Angela Merkel of Germany. The smile prompted more than a few criticisms from online commentators. > [](https://twitter.com/brianklaas/status/1061589470892433409) > [](https://twitter.com/davidschneider/status/1061615530614947840) Upon shaking hands, Putin flashed Trump a quick thumbs up in a moment caught on video. > [](https://twitter.com/Ozkok%5F/status/1061618933575438336) Some took the opportunity to mock Trump’s continued chummy relationship with the Russian leader. > [](https://twitter.com/GSarafan/status/1061639126812946433) > [](https://twitter.com/AnandWrites/status/1061583808464646144) In the past, Trump has appeared to [side with the Russian president](http://time.com/5342747/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-summit-2/) over his own intelligence agencies and [ignored warnings](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia%5Fpacific/the-latest-trump-macron-try-to-project-unity/2018/11/10/1355d52e-e546-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.198d5923364a) from his national security advisors not to congratulate Putin on his reelection. Putin has been accused of [rigging the 2018 Russian elections.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/19/vladimir-putin-secures-record-win-in-russian-presidential-election) The Kremlin said that Putin and Trump would meet in the midst of this weekend’s events, though Trump said earlier in the week [that there was no time scheduled for a meeting](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/us/politics/trump-putin-paris-meeting.html). Following [Russia’s interference](http://time.com/5340060/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-summit-russia-meddling/) in the 2016 election and national security officials’ [concerns about future attempts](http://time.com/5429870/us-voter-influence/) to disrupt U.S. electoral politics, the two nations maintain the [tensest relations in decades](http://time.com/5331253/trump-putin-summit-russia-united-states-relations/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5451539/putin-trump-thumbs-up-paris-wwi-commemoration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5451539/putin-trump-thumbs-up-paris-wwi-commemoration/"},"headline":"Putin and President Trump: Smiles and a Thumbs Up at Paris World War I Commemoration","datePublished":"2018-11-11T17:41:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:05.497Z","description":"The internet thinks the pair greeted each other more like old friends than competing world leaders","url":"https://time.com/5451539/putin-trump-thumbs-up-paris-wwi-commemoration/","keywords":["Donald J. 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