Melania Trump feels “very strongly” about children suffering in Ukraine, but doesn’t bear any ill will toward the architect of the attacks, her husband has revealed.
“Both of us are disappointed at this ridiculous war continuing,” said President Trump, speaking on behalf of them both.
Trump had called ending Russia’s war in Ukraine one of his day 1 priorities, but almost eight months later, it rages on without any viable peace plan on the table.
During a meeting in Alaska last month between Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the U.S. president hand-delivered a “peace letter” from his wife asking Putin to “protect the innocence” of children.
“In today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them—a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future. Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter,” she wrote, apparently alluding to Ukraine but never explicitly mentioning the war.
In the lead-up to the summit, Melania had privately expressed frustration with Putin’s bombing campaigns, which as of July had killed more than 13,800 civilians, including about 725 children, according to the U.N.
Going into the Aug. 16 talks, Trump was also concerned for the fate of more than 20,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children, the White House noted.
Putin has continued to attack civilians even after the meeting, leading a journalist to ask Trump on Sunday if Melania had said anything about Putin since the Alaska summit.
“No, the first lady actually got along great with Putin, as I did,” Trump said.
It wasn’t entirely clear what he meant, since Melania Trump didn’t travel to Alaska with her husband. In summer 2017, she was seated next to him at a G20 dinner in Hamburg, Germany, and met him again a year later at a trilateral diplomacy meeting in Finland.
The last time they were photographed together appears to have been in November 2018, when world leaders and their spouses attended commemoration ceremonies in Paris marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
Just over three years later, Putin invaded Ukraine.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
After the U.S. president vowed to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office, Putin has blown through more than half a dozen Trump-imposed “deadlines” for a ceasefire or peace deal.
Elaborating on his and the first lady’s feelings about Russia, Trump said on Sunday, “But you know we’re disappointed—both of us are disappointed that this ridiculous war continues.”
“Are you proud to see her sending the letter?” a journalist asked.
“Yes, she is, and she’s felt very strongly about the children, yeah, feels very badly about it,” Trump said.
The post Trump Spills on Melania’s True Feelings About Putin appeared first on The Daily Beast.
