Over the weekend, Platon, a renowned British photographer known for his portraits of prominent world leaders, including Vladimir Putin and US presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, shared disturbing details of an encounter with Trump .
The photographer’s revelations were made during an interview with cnn Christiane Amanpour, providing a rare glimpse into her experiences with these powerful figures. Plato’s conversation first addressed his intimidating photo session with Vladimir Putin, which got off to an unexpected and alarming start.
“We have all followed your career, no one can doubt that you have had an extraordinary career path,” Platon said he told Trump. “But there’s always something about you, there’s always an air of tension and controversy about the things you say and do in public, and I’m sure that’s intentional on your part. But to me it seems like you’re in the middle of an emotional storm. I can’t live with that anxiety all the time. As a human being, I would like to know how you weather the storm.”
It was at that moment that Trump looked at Plato and said, “I am the storm.” “I had those words echoing in my brain,” Platon told Amanpour. “During the election campaign, during his presidency, during his post-presidency, and now we are in another cycle again. I keep thinking, ‘There’s only one person who can navigate the storm perfectly,’ and that’s the creator of the storm.”
He told how he was led to believe that the session would take place in the majestic halls of the Kremlin. Instead, Plato found himself escorted at gunpoint by a former KGB agent to a remote forest outside Moscow. This led him to Putin’s dacha, a place he described as the “scariest building” he had ever seen, surrounded by snipers and imbued with a palpable sense of intimidation, he reported. Raw story.
Amid the many challenging and stressful moments of his career, Platon emphasized that it was his interaction with Donald Trump that stood out the most. During a portrait session with Trump before his presidency, Plato attempted to break the ice in an unusual way. “I remember saying to him, ‘Donny, let’s be human,’” Platon recalled. This comment underscored the photographer’s effort to leave behind the persona often associated with Trump and connect on a more personal and human level.
The conversation with Amanpour gave Platon the opportunity to reflect on the varied nature of his interactions with world leaders, highlighting the contrast between the orchestrated and tension-filled session with Putin and his more sincere and humanizing attempt with Trump. Plato’s experiences shed light on the complexities and pressures that come with photographing some of the most cautious and influential people in the world.
His account not only captures the logistical and emotional challenges he faced during these high-profile assignments, but also illustrates the stark differences in the way these leaders present themselves behind closed doors. Plato’s ideas contribute to a broader understanding of the personal dynamics at play in the realms of global power, revealing how even an experienced photographer can find themselves going through moments of vulnerability and surprise.
