Trump revealed earlier this year that his wife had been influential in pushing him to secure peace in Ukraine.
“My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant. I say, isn’t that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night,” Trump said at the White House last month.
Donald and Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in July.Credit: Bloomberg
“I go home, I tell the first lady: ‘I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ She said: ‘Really? Another city was just hit.’”
The Slovenian-born first lady, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, has been supportive of Ukraine since Putin launched his invasion in 2022.
Shortly after the war started, she called on her social media followers to donate to the Red Cross and said it was “heartbreaking and horrific to see innocent people suffering”.
Ukrainians and some US Republicans have praised her for seemingly influencing Trump to push Putin for peace.
Ukrainian women put flowers by the rubble of a destroyed house where three children were killed by a Russian strike in Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr region, in May.Credit: AP
“Well, I’m glad that the president has pivoted on Ukraine,” Don Bacon, a Republican congressman, said in an interview after the president threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia last month.
“I think we owe Melania some thanks here. Even the president said that his wife reminds him every day that Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities every night,” he continued.
