Donald Trump says his wife Melania loves their son Barron more than him, and that her affection for children is what drove her to write an emotional letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
During a high-stakes meeting in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump revealed that the First Lady had been so moved by images of children dying during the war that she made a rare intervention last week when Trump met with Putin in Alaska.
“She’s got a great love of children, she has a wonderful son that she loves probably more than anybody, including me–I hate to say it,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, referencing their 19-year-old son Barron.
“But she loves her son, she loves children, and she hates to see something like this happening.”
The comments came days after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin, only to be humiliated by failing to land the ceasefire he originally hoped for, or any other major concessions to end the war that Moscow started more than three years ago.
During Friday’s meeting, however, Trump delivered a letter from Melania, in which she urged the Russian autocrat to remember the innocence of the children caught amid the fighting.
“Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or magnificent city center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger,” the letter began.
“In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself,” she added.
“Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with the stroke of the pen today. It is time.”
Trump had shared the letter on social media ahead of his meeting with Zelensky, which was the first Oval Office bilateral talks the pair have had since their extraordinary blowup on February 28 when the Ukrainian leader was berated by Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
This time, however, Zelensky came with the support of other European heads of state: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s executive arm.
Wearing a dark suit instead of his usual military clothing, the Ukrainian leader was greeted warmly by Trump as he arrived at the White House, passing scores of supporters holding Ukraine flags on the streets of downtown D.C.
He also repeatedly thanked the president for his “efforts to stop killings and stop this war” and for providing Ukraine with military aid.
And he presented Trump with his own letter from Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska to give to Melania.
But the meeting is critical for Zelensky, who Trump is pressuring to give up Crimea and hand Putin other parts of Ukraine to secure a peace deal.
Asked if today could be “the end of the road” for U.S. support for Ukraine if a peace deal wasn’t brokered, Trump said: “I can never say that.”
“It’s never the end of the road,” the president said. “People are being killed, and we want to stop that. So I would not say it’s the end of the road.”
However, it is unclear how today’s meetings will deal with the other red lines the European leaders previously had, such as a cease-fire before any discussion of territorial issues, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelensky has repeatedly pushed for security guarantees to make sure that Russia won’t just agree to a deal and then invade Ukraine again after regrouping. Asked what kind of security guarantees he wanted, Ukraine’s president said: “Everything.”
