In a hot mic moment Monday, President Donald Trump appeared to be reassuring French President Emmanuel Macron that Russian President Vladimir Putin was serious about making peace in Ukraine.
‘I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me,’ Trump whispered to Macron in the White House East Room before their meeting started. ‘Do you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.’
Macron appeared skeptical that Putin was serious about ending the three and a half year conflict that Russia had started.
Trump gathered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a handful of European leaders at the White House on Monday for a debrief of sorts after his high stakes meeting with Putin on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.
While Trump said alongside Putin on Friday that they had had an ‘extremely productive meeting,’ Trump was unable to get Putin to agree to a ceasefire, with the Russian leader resistant to stopping the fighting telling reporters that Russia still needed to ‘eliminate the primary roots, the primary causes, of that conflict.’
The European leaders were gathered in Washington to discuss next steps – including security guarantees and getting kidnapped Ukrainian children back.
Trump first met with Zelensky in the Oval Office before leading a discussion in the East Room with the bigger group.
The president invited NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Macron to take part.
President Donald Trump hosted (from left) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the East Room on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) shakes hands with President Donald Trump (right) Monday in the Oval Office, a much friendlier back-and-forth than the fireworks displayed between the two leaders in the Oval in late February
Zelensky’s meeting in the Oval Office took on a dramatically different tone than the showdown in late February.
Both Trump and Zelensky were on better behavior.
The Ukrainian leader showed up in a black tie-less suit, which Trump immediately complimented.
‘We love them, we love them,’ Trump told reporters when asked if he had a message for the Ukrainian people.
In February Trump told Zelensky ‘you don’t have the cards,’ pushing him to be more ‘thankful.’
On Monday, Trump didn’t take the bait when asked which side – Ukraine or Russia – had the better cards.
‘Well I don’t want to say that,’ the president answered.
After his meeting with Zelensky, Trump joined the other leaders in the Cross Hall for a ‘family photo.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) speaks to the press at the top of a meeting in the East Room Monday hosted by President Donald Trump (right) and attended by European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron (center)
President Donald Trump (center) hosted (from left) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte
President Donald Trump (left) stepped outside the West Wing to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) three days after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska
Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley (left) greets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House on Monday
Photographers set up their ladders outside the West Wing hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to greet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Enhanced security was set up around the White House on Monday ahead of President Donald Trump’s meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. H Street N.W. was blocked off with large trucks
President Donald Trump (left) shakes the hand of Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) at the conclusion of their meetings in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday. Directly after the meeting, Trump pushed Zelensky to make a deal with Putin to conclude the war
The leaders didn’t smile, but Trump couldn’t help commenting on the White House entranceway’s new decor – the ‘fight, fight, fight’ image he had installed where former President Barack Obama’s portrait used to hang.
‘That was not a great day,’ Trump commented, referencing the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt.
Once inside the East Room, Trump was caught whispering with Macron.
As the press was leaving, he got caught on hot mic again.
‘You do this everyday?’ Stubb could be heard saying as reporters were ushered out after yelling questions their way.
‘All the time,’ Trump answered.
Meloni chimed in, ‘But he loves it, he loves it,’ she said, noting how she doesn’t like engaging with her press.
