Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy came prepared for his White House meeting with Donald Trump this week. Dressed in a smart suit he brought two items, one for the U.S. president and another for his wife, Melania.
These two items would prove to be of vital importance in winning over Trump and Zelenskyy no doubt knew what he was doing. The items in question? A golf club for Donald Trump and a letter from Zelenskyy’s wife to Melania. Unlike the previous meeting held between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents, this one would ultimately end up being a much more well-mannered affair thanks to these two gifts.
Zelenskyy knows how to play Trump
Zelenskyy may not have recieved the same treatment as Putin upon his arrival but that didn’t phase him. According to Politico the golf club was a symbolic gift which had been given to Zelenskyy to pass on to Trump by a junior sergeant by the name of Kostiantyn Kartavtsev who had lost his leg in the war. According to Zelenskyy’s office “Golf became part of Kartavtsev’s rehabilitation.” Kartavtsev also recorded a message for the U.S. president asking for his help in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy followed this up with a letter from his wife addressed to Melania, telling Trump “Let me thank your wife. Because she sent a letter concerning our children, and my wife, the first lady of Ukraine, gave her the letter.” Melania previously penned a letter addressed to Vladimir Putin, asking him to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and think of the children.
All of this is likely a clever play from Zelenskyy to win Trump over before negotiations had even begun. Appealing to Trump’s favorite hobby as well as validating Melania for her attempt to change Putin’s mind likely made the U.S. president change his tune a little.
Zelensky is a genius. He started his 1v1 meeting with Trump by thanking Melania Trump for sending Putin a letter asking for Ukraine's children to be returned. Zelensky then gave trump a letter for his wife from the First Lady of Ukraine.
— Jake Broe (@RealJakeBroe) August 18, 2025
Trump was pretty mild after that. pic.twitter.com/3qRmt2PlX1
World leaders have been aware of Donald Trump’s weakness for a while now, making use of flattery and overt friendliness to get him on side and it almost always works. On X people commended Zelenskyy for his smart move, noting how Trump was “mild” after the Ukrainian president offered him the gifts.
The meeting went a lot better this time
Compared to the clown show that took place in the White House in February, this meeting went miles better and it seems like Zelenksyy’s new negotiation tactic is to thank for that. He ended up leaving the meeting with a recorded video from Trump thanking Kartavtsev for the golf club as well as a symbolic set of keys to the White House. Meanwhile, the meeting between the U.S. president and Putin did not end on such warm terms.
It certainly sounds like this most recent meeting between the two leaders has solidified a friendship between them. How long will it take for Trump to go back on that? Who’s to say, but for now, Zelenskyy has him on his side.
