American President Donald Trump claims he insulted Russian President Vladimir Putin to his face, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
While speaking with Vice President JD Vance at the MAHA Summit in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 12, RFK Jr. recalled Trump describing himself making fun of Putin’s height.
“One of the funniest moments in any Cabinet meeting,” Kennedy began, “President Trump had them bring in a full-size picture of himself with Putin when they were in Hawaii. He’s very tall and Putin was very short,” Kennedy, 71, told the crowd inside the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
There is no public record of Trump, 79, and Putin, 73, meeting in Hawaii, but the two world leaders did attend a U.S.-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15.
“Putin came up to about here,” RFK Jr. said while pointing to his midsection. Referring to Trump, Kennedy continued, “And he said, ‘You know what I said to him?’ He said, ‘I’ve had it up to here with you!’”
The lighthearted anecdote about Trump’s improbable boast — the president’s obsequiousness toward the Russian leader is well documented — caused Kennedy, Vance, and many of the audience members to burst out laughing.
Viewers also responded.
“Omggggg,” said one social media user, while another noted, “Yeah, it’s really funny how short Putin is.”
A third noted, “That (hand gesture) would make Trump 6’7 or 6’8. We know that’s a lie.”
Questions about Trump’s height have remained part of the constant speculation surrounding the Republican politician’s tendency to stretch the truth or outright make up facts about himself.
In 2018, then-White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson listed Trump at 6-foot-3 in official medical disclosures. Current White House physician Sean Barbabella doubled down on the 6-foot-3 measurement in a 2025 health report.
“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” Barbabella wrote in the memo released by the White House in April.
Jail intake records in Fulton County, Georgia, also had Trump’s height at 6 feet 3. However, Politico reported in 2016 that the New York City Native’s 2012 driver’s license had him at 6 feet 2.
The one-inch discrepancy in height presented in two government documents connected to Trump is a minor difference. The White House’s claim that the McDonald’s food lover currently weighs 223-224 pounds is what really had critics’ BS meter peaking.
In addition, some internet users were not buying Kennedy’s story about Trump supposedly shading Putin, who reportedly stands 5 feet 7, over being shorter than the leader of the Western world.
“Vlad doesn’t wear 4-inch lifted shoes like 5’11 Trump,” someone wrote in the Yahoo comment section, suggesting the president intentionally exaggerates how tall he stands.
Other people took aim at Trump as well. For instance, one person declared, “It’s almost as if Trump doesn’t own a mirror.” A third post read, “So, Putin’s short and Trump’s a big oaf.”
“Look how fatter and sicker Trump looks next to Putin. Make America Healthy Again, should start with Trump as an example of an [unhealthy] person,” another commenter wrote, mocking RFK Jr.’s MAHA movement.
Kennedy is one of the most polarizing figures of the second Trump administration. In particular, “The View” host Sunny Hostin has not held back on her criticism of the Harvard University graduate.
Hostin, 57, clashed with RFK Jr.’s wife, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Cheryl Hines, on her daytime talk show in October. The former Justice Department lawyer had an issue with Trump appointing Kennedy as a national health adviser despite not having a medical background.
