WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump says his wife, first lady Melania Trump, has emphasized to him privately that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued attacks on Ukraine contradict the rosy picture the Russian leader often presents in phone calls with her husband.
While discussing new actions and threats aimed at pressuring Moscow to agree to a ceasefire deal, Trump twice on July 14 referenced remarks that Melania Trump ‒ who tends to keep a low profile ‒ has made to him in private about Russia’s attacks.
“I go home, I tell the first lady, ‘You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ And she said, ‘Oh really? Another city was just hit,'” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
More: Trump to send Ukraine weapons through NATO, threatens secondary tariffs on Russia
About an hour later, Trump told a similar story at a luncheon with the White House Faith Office, as he recounted the numerous times he thought a Russia-Ukraine peace deal was imminent.
“I’d get home, I’d say, ‘First lady, I had the most wonderful talk with Vladimir. I think we’re finished.’ And then I’ll turn on the television, or she’ll say to me one time, ‘Wow, that’s strange because they just bombed a nursing home,'” Trump said, prompting laughs among the crowd at the White House State Dining Room.
More: Trump said he’d end Ukraine war in 24 hours. Now his patience with Putin is wearing thin.
Growing increasingly frustrated by Putin, Trump on Monday threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Russia and its trading partners if a ceasefire is not reached in 50 days. He also pledged that the United States would send weapons to NATO to assist in Ukraine’s war efforts.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” said Trump, continuing his recent criticism of the Russian president.
More: Trump says he threatened to bomb Moscow if Putin invaded Ukraine, new audio shows
Trump said Putin is a “tough guy” who has “fooled a lot of people” over the years, but “he didn’t fool me.” The president indicated he’s weary of fruitless negotiations and said he wants “action.”
Melania Trump, a native of Slovenia, typically refrains from weighing in publicly on political and international affairs. Like she did during her husband’s first term in office, she has often been absent from the White House since Trump’s return to Washington.
Melania Trump last Friday joined her husband during a visit to Central Texas to meet with families of victims who died in recent devastating floods there. The first couple also attended Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup together at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Oh really?’: Trump says his wife Melania has some thoughts on Putin
