A Republican congressman has praised First Lady Melania Trump for making her husband realize he’d been played by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon said he was “glad” to see President Donald Trump shift course on pressuring Russia over its war in Ukraine in an interview on NewsNation’s The Hill Sunday with Chris Stirewalt, saying, “I think we owe Melania some thanks here.”
Bacon, a longtime critic of Trump’s approach to Putin, continued, “Even the president said that his wife reminds him every day that Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities every night.”
Trump credited Melania for helping him see how Putin had been stringing him along during his Monday announcement of a deal with NATO to provide weapons to Ukraine, in which he also threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Russia in 50 days if Putin doesn’t agree to a ceasefire.
He described growing frustrated after having “wonderful conversations” with Putin during their peace talks only for Melania to point out that Russia had struck “another city” in Ukraine soon after.
“I get home, I’d say, ‘First Lady, I had the most wonderful talk with Vladimir. I think we’re finished,’” Trump said. “And then I’d turn on the television or she’ll say to me one time, ‘Well that’s strange because they just bombed a nursing home.’”
The news prompted pro-Ukrainian social media users to hail the Slovenian-born first lady, who grew up in former Yugoslavia, as an “undercover agent.”
Agent Melania Trumpenko pic.twitter.com/rVzf6tJfvJ
— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) July 14, 2025
Melania has spoken in support of Ukraine previously, calling on her followers to donate to the Red Cross in an X post during Russia’s initial invasion in 2022, writing, “My thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people.”
Trump’s apparent pivot on Ukraine didn’t go far enough for Bacon, a five-term Republican whose willingness to criticize Trump sets him apart from many in his party.
“I hope the president does more than just sell weapons to NATO, for NATO to give to Ukraine,” he said, before adding that he wished Trump’s ultimatum to Putin was “20 days or 30 days” instead of 50.
Bacon, who in May slammed Trump’s “moral ambiguity” after the president attacked Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the same Truth Social post, continued, “We should have total moral clarity here. Russia is the invader. They’re bombing the cities.”
The post GOP Rep Says Melania Is Brains Behind Trump’s Putin U-Turn appeared first on The Daily Beast.
