I like this piece: Donald Trump told some people this week, as The Times reports,
“I go home, I tell the First Lady, ‘I spoke to Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation.’ And she says, ‘Oh really? Another city was just hit.’”
The Times just said what to anybody from so-called Eastern Europe would be not surprise at all:
First Lady Melania Trump is quietly shaping one of the most critical foreign policy decisions of Donald Trump’s presidency — the delivery of PATRIOT air defense missiles to Ukraine.
Why is it not a surprise that she might have influenced him? She is from Eastern Europe, and she understands what Russia is.
So Melania’s worldview may diverge from her husbands’s, especially when speaking about Putin.
While Trump has publicly praised the Russian leader in the past — calling him “savvy” and a “genius” — Melania has long expressed sorrow over Russia’s brutal attacks on Ukraine.
Back in 2022, she called the civilian deaths “heartbreaking” and “horrific,” encouraged donations to the Red Cross, and voiced support for Ukraine.
Born in 1970 in the former Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), Melania grew up behind the Iron Curtain. She holds deep admiration for Ronald Reagan — the man credited with ending the Cold War — and has never hidden her unease with authoritarian regimes.
According to journalist Mary Jordan, author of The Art of Her Deal, Melania’s experience in a region historically wary of Russian power gives her a unique and personal understanding of what’s at stake.
“Her home country is all in for Ukraine, and people over there are appalled that the United States would suddenly stop arming Ukraine,” Jordan told The Times.
And Melania, apparently, is making sure that message is heard loud and clear inside the White House.
On July 15, Trump confirmed that Patriot missile systems are on their way to Ukraine. Interestingly, he emphasized that they’re being sent from Germany and that NATO and the EU are footing the bill — “In all cases, the United States is paid 100 percent,” he noted.
He also signaled a sharper tone toward Russia, warning of potential 100% tariffs if aggression continues.
While advisers and foreign policy experts remain part of the decision-making process, Trump seems to also value voices closer to home. As Jordan put it,
“He particularly listens to people who are really close to him. And especially if their last name is Trump.”
Melania’s continued use of Slovene at home with son Barron (now a freshman at NYU), their EU passports, and ongoing ties to Slovenia through her father — all point to a First Lady who remains deeply connected to Europe, and personally invested in its future.
NICE.