Headlines brutally criticise Trump as ‘Putin’s poodle’

LONDON: The headlines were brutal:

‘‘Best ally of Putin,’’ said Tuesday’s front page of France’s soberminded Le Monde.

‘‘Trump makes it easy for Putin,’’ echoed German’s Die Welt.

‘‘Trump 0, Putin 1,’’ said the Finnish business daily Kauppalehti, playing off the justconcluded World Cup soccer tournament in Russia.

In globespanning dayafter news coverage, Helsinki, the Finnish capital where Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump met on Tuesday, suddenly became shorthand for what was widely described as a very bad day for the US president.

The leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera said Helsinki marked an ‘‘American surrender,’’ describing Trump’s performance at a postsummit news conference as ‘‘obliging side man to a victorious Vladimir Putin’’.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper, in its lead headline on the Helsinki meeting, rolled out the Tword — ‘‘treasonous’’ — albeit in quotes.

‘‘Putin’s poodle,’’ the Daily Mirror dubbed Trump. The Daily Express spoke of Putin’s ‘‘new best buddy’’ and had a doublepage spread.

In Russia, where Putin’s performance was hailed as a national triumph, staterun newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta trumpeted: ‘‘The West’s attempts to isolate Russia failed.’’

Italy’s hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini praised Russia for having a government ‘‘that acts in the interests of its people’’.

A viral cartoon depicting Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as gay lovers has been condemned as ‘‘homophobic‘‘, ad mental health charities warned it sent a negative message to vulnerable young LGBT people.

Activists said the satirical animation in the New York Times implied homosexual relationships were shameful or laughable, echoing homophobic bullies and adding to pressure on young people struggling with their gender or sexuality.