President Donald Trump has admitted that First Lady Melania Trump loves their son more than him - and that her love for children prompted her to write a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin urging him to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump made the comments during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, saying that the First Lady had been so moved by the images of children dying amid the fighting that she took the step to directly address the Russian leader in a letter, delivered by her husband when the leaders met in Alaska on Friday.
“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,” said Trump during the Oval Office sit-down with Zelensky, referencing their son Barron, 19. “But she loves her son, she loves children, and she hates to see something like this happening.”
While Barron Trump appeared during the 2024 campaign, he’s rarely been seen with his father in recent months.
On Friday, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska but was unable to reach a peace or ceasefire deal. During the meeting, Trump delivered the letter from Melania in which she pushed Putin to remember the children caught in the middle of the war of aggression started by Russia in February 2022.
“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,” she wrote.
“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 published the letter on social media ahead of his meeting with Zelensky, their first get-together since their infamous tet-a-tet in February, when both Trump and Vice President JD Vance ambushed the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office.
On Monday, however, Zelensky was backed up by a cadre of European leaders, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
After being criticized by Vance in February for not being grateful enough, Zelensky repeatedly thanked Trump for his “efforts to stop killings and stop this war” and for the military aid Washington has supplied to Kyiv.
Zelensky also handed a letter from Ukrainian First Lady Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska addressed to the U.S. first lady.
The president was asked on Monday afternoon if it could be “the end of the road” for American support for Ukraine if a peace deal isn’t reached.
“I can never say that,” said Trump.
“It’s never the end of the road,” he added. “People are being killed, and we want to stop that. So I would not say it’s the end of the road.”
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