US President Donald Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday and gifted him a bottle of his ‘Victory’ perfume at the Oval Office.
Trump first opened a cologne bottle, proceeded to spray it on himself and then on al-Sharaa. “It’s the best fragrance,” he said and then sprayed some more perfume on another staff member of the Syrian president.
Trump handed the perfume bottle to al-Sharaa and told him that the other one is for his wife. He then asked the Syrian president in a joking tone, “How many wives? One?” to which al-Sharaa responded with a smile and a nod, “One.”
The two presidents shared a giggle as Trump patted al-Sharaa’s arm after his ‘one’ wife response. He then said, “You never know right.”
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Al-Sharaa’s trip to Washington marked the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country secured independence from France in 1946. The visit also comes after the US lifted the sanctions imposed on Syria during Bashar Assad’s regime.
Al-Sharaa had led the rebel forces that toppled the government led by the then Syrian president Bashar Assad in December 2024 and was named the country’s interim leader in January 2025.
Donald Trump also welcomed Syria into the US-led global coalition to fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Trump-Sharaa meet
Monday’s meeting between al-Sharaa and Trump lasted for about two hours, as per the Associated Press.
During al-Sharaa’s visit, Syria formally confirmed that it would join the global coalition against the IS group, becoming its 90th member, according to a senior US administration official.
Additionally, Washington will also allow Syria to resume its operations at its embassy in the state, enabling the two countries to better coordinate on counterterrorism, security and economic issues.
The Syrian foreign ministry issued a statement on the meeting and described it as “friendly and constructive”, adding that Trump “affirmed the readiness of the United States to provide the support that the Syrian leadership needs to ensure the success of the reconstruction and development process”.
In an interview on Fox News, al-Sharaa said he and the US President talked about future investment opportunities in Syria, “so that Syria is no longer looked at as a security threat”.
‘It is now looked at as a geopolitical ally. And it’s a place where the United States can have great investments, especially extracting gas”.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters that Washington will “do everything we can to make Syria successful because that’s a part of the Middle East”.
Speaking about al-Sharaa, Trump said, “I have confidence that he will be able to do the job”.
Later in a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he plans to meet and speak with al-Sharaa again.
“It was an Honor to spend time with Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the new President of Syria, where we discussed all the intricacies of PEACE in the Middle East, of which he is a major advocate. I look forward to meeting and speaking again. Everyone is talking about the Great Miracle that is taking place in the Middle East. Having a stable and successful Syria is very important to all countries in the Region,” his post read.
Al-Sharaa, who once had ties to al-Qaida and had a $10 million US bounty on his head, first met President Trump in May in Saudi Arabia. At the time, Trump described the Syrian leader as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter.”
