Vladimir Putin gave President Trump a soccer ball during their join press conference Monday in Helsinki, and Trump promptly tossed it to Melania.
According to the AP, the Secret Service now has the ball and is putting it through a routine security check.
During a joint news conference after their summit this week in Finland, Putin used soccer metaphors and was handed a soccer ball that he tossed to Trump.
Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup. Trump said he’d give the ball to his 12-year-old son Barron, a soccer fan.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Putin critic, tweeted after the exchange that he’d have the ball checked for listening devices and “never allow it in the White House.”
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told a security conference he’s sure the ball “has been looked at very carefully.”
Putin soccer ball gift to Trump gets routine security check (AP)