Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has thanked Donald Trump for a gift of Trump cologne, a callback to their historic meeting in November when the American leader lavished his fragrance on the Syrian rebel-turned-statesman.
Al-Sharaa was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the country's independence in 1946.
"Some meetings leave an impression; ours apparently left a fragrance," al-Sharaa posted in English on X late on Tuesday, posting an image of two Trump-branded fragrance boxes, one red and the other black.
"Thank you, Mr. President @realDonaldTrump, for your generosity and for topping up this precious gift. May the spirit of that meeting continue to shape a stronger relationship between Syria and the United States."
After the November meeting, a video emerged showing Trump gifting al-Sharaa his cologne, spraying some on him and on Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
At the time, Trump also gifted al-Sharaa a perfume box for his wife, jokingly asking him "how many wives" he had.
A note to al-Sharaa from Trump, pictured alongside the new boxes, reads: "They're all talking about the picture we took when I gave you this great cologne – Just in case you ran out!"
The cologne's website says the fragrance, which sells for $249 a bottle, "embodies strength, power, and victory."
Since ousting longtime Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in 2024, al-Sharaa's new government in Damascus has rebooted ties with the U.S.
Trump has ended sanctions and met Sharaa for the first time in May last year in Saudi Arabia during a regional tour, dubbing the Syrian leader "a young, attractive guy."
