“The incompetence is astounding”: White House says Trump-Putin notes left in hotel printer were just a lunch menu—here’s what was on it
Alleged documents from President Donald Trump’s recent Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin were reportedly discovered abandoned in a public hotel printer just minutes from the meeting site. The pages, found by guests at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, appeared to include State Department details, scheduling notes, and even staff phone numbers, immediately triggering concerns about security lapses.
While the White House dismissed them as a “multi-page lunch menu,” critics saw the incident as a sign of Trump’s reckless handling of sensitive information.
White House downplays incident as "a multi-page lunch menu"
According to NPR, eight pages tied to the State Department appeared to have been left in a hotel business center. The hotel was located only 20 minutes from the Anchorage summit meeting site, and guests reportedly spotted the pages sitting unclaimed in the printer tray.
The documents supposedly listed meeting times, summit locations, and even U.S. staff phone numbers. Additionally, some included room names and a seating chart for the talks. One section allegedly described a bald eagle statue that Trump planned to gift to Putin.
Notably, not all the material looked official. Several pages referenced luncheon plans. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly seized on those details and called the documents merely a "multi-page lunch menu." Furthermore, she mocked NPR for treating the matter as a security breach.
The lunch menu, which read, "Luncheon in honor of his excellency Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation," shows the pair would have eaten a starter of "green salad with champagne vinaigrette," while the main course was a "duet of filet mignon with brady peppercorn sauce and halibut Olympia served with buttery whipped potatoes and roasted asparagus." Dessert, had the lunch not been cancelled, would have been a crème brûlée.
Despite Kelly’s dismissal, observers pointed out the seriousness of leaving behind any government documents, even minor ones, on a public printer. Critics argued that even benign material could reveal patterns about how official events are planned.
Critics warn of security risks
Once the story broke, social media users unleashed sharp criticism. Many recalled earlier controversies, especially the infamous SignalGate incident or how Trump latched onto Hillary Clinton's emails. Consequently, the hotel printer fiasco fit neatly into a broader narrative of alleged carelessness.
"This is what happens when you vote a reality tv star into office ???????????? UNPRECEDENTED," said @ladidaix of the news.
On X, some users joked about sharing sensitive information with hotel staff.
"Open Mic Night at the Hotel Captain Cook! A place to practice and improve your comedy skills, or just to share a State Department memo with a friendly, supportive audience," tweeted @cynthiacarle.
Others said they had higher security at their high school library or workplace.
Not every reaction was humorous. Many people online stressed that if genuine, the pages could have exposed U.S. officials to security risks. The careless handling of even routine details added fuel to an already heated political climate.
@_MyDMsBroke noted, "This is an astounding level of incompetence, the very definition of (another) national security failure."
"Only Trump could bungle a summit so badly that sensitive government papers get left behind in a hotel," another person on X pointed out. "It’s reckless, sloppy, and dangerous proof he’s an incompetent fool who treats national security like trash."
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