President Donald Trump was caught in a bizarre interaction with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the latter’s controversial trip to the White House this week. Trump extended a warm welcome to al-Sharaa to the White House, marking the first official White House visit from a Syrian leader since 1946, when the nation gained its independence from France.
The meeting was supposed to be a meaningful diplomatic exchange; however, the moment quickly became a deeply unserious one. The President was seen dousing both himself and al-Sharaa in a “men’s fragrance,” which is believed to be his signature cologne, called Fight! Fight! Fight!
After meeting the former head of the rebel forces, now the interim leader of Syria, the president took it upon himself to give the leader a sample of “the best fragrance.” He was seen laughing awkwardly as Trump proceeded to spray himself and his staffers with the cologne.
‘How many wives? One?’ Trump asks Syria’s new leader in White House — video
Trump gifted Al-Shaar perfume and went on to SPRAY him with it
‘This is the best fragrance! And the other one is for your wife’
Al-Sharaa assured Trump he only has one wife. Vibe check passed, too pic.twitter.com/SAjO6Vc8GH
— RT (@RT_com) November 12, 2025
Trump then handed the bottle to al-Sharaa and said, “This fragrance is for you, the other is for your wife.” If that weren’t uncomfortable enough, he proceeded to ask the Syrian leader, ”How many wives do you have?”
Al-Sharaa responded simply, “Just one.” The American president then patted his arm and said, “With you guys, I never know.” Some are viewing this as a “hilarious,” “lighthearted exchange,” while others have found the president’s brashness absurd, even asking, “There’s no way… is this real?”
This, though, was not the first time Trump and al-Sharaa had met. In May, the two met in Saudi-Arabia, where Donald Trump expressed his admiration for the interim president. It’s also worth noting that it was not long ago that he held ties with Al-Qaeda.
Former al-Qaeda/al-Nusra fighter (responsible for planting bombs in Iraq to kill US soldiers) and current President of Syria inside the Oval Office today…
If you whine about Mamdani and yet remain silent on this, kindly GFY pic.twitter.com/Yc3bREZqIi
— 𝔸𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕪 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕤🍥 (@TheAzoreanOne) November 10, 2025
During his trip, Trump told the media on Air Force One that al-Sharaa was “a young, attractive guy – tough guy” with strong credentials and a potential to bring about a new period of calm in Syria. “He’s got a real shot at pulling it together,” he said.
This claim by the president came as a shock to many, as Trump has posted several times on social media that the U.S. has “no interest in Syria.” Since the Bashar al-Assad regime fell in December 2024, the United Nations has reported that “the international community began to ease sanctions against the country, in an attempt to improve the humanitarian situation and revive the battered economy.”
In their meeting this week, it was announced that Syria will be joining a U.S.-led coalition to combat ISIS.
