Last night Donald Trump shared the photo below to social media.  It is a photo that was taken in August of 2025 when several European leaders sat with Trump in the Oval Office for a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

The photo has been altered however.  In the August 2025 meeting there was a map of Ukraine on an easel.  In the photo Trump shared last night the map of Ukraine has been replaced with a map showing the United States, Canada, Greenland and Venezuela under the American flag.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, and this altered image tells us at least two things:

1. That the Trump administration has zero compunction about "editing" the truth to suit their purposes.  This falls squarely in line with tactics used by authoritarians from Stalin to Kim Jong Un.

2. By posting this edited photo Trump is sending a very clear message of what his intentions are: to invade and rule Greenland and Canada, in addition to Venezuela.

The message Trump is sending is clear.  The global danger is real.

Photo shared by Trump to social media:

Original photo:

In February of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Donald Trump said in a radio interview: “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful.  He used the word ‘independent’ and ‘we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.’ You gotta say that’s pretty savvy.”  It's pretty obvious that Trump was inspired by Putin, given the similar rhetoric he now uses about the "necessity" of invading other countries for the sake of "safety" and "security."