Melania was ‘quiet force' behind Trump's Putin stance, says daughter of Ukraine envoy

Telegraph

4 days ago

Melania Trump is the 'quiet force' behind her husband's apparent U-turn on Ukraine, the daughter of the president's special envoy to Kyiv has said.
Meaghan Mobbs, whose father Gen Keith Kellogg was appointed to lead efforts for peace, said the first lady had put pressure on Donald Trump to protect 'innocent Ukrainians' from Vladimir Putin's bombs.
Ms Mobbs, who lives under near-daily bombardment in Kyiv, spoke to The Telegraph about the first lady's influence in an interview in which she also claimed the president was no longer listening to the pro-Russian wing of his Maga movement.
Of the first lady, Ms Mobbs said: '[Mr Trump] deeply values her counsel. They have a very, open, conversational relationship and she is one of his closest advisers. People seem to forget that for some reason; maybe because she's so beautiful, or she's not frequently in Washington.'
Mr Trump recently hinted at his wife's influence on Ukraine after he announced a deal to deliver billions of dollars of weapons and sanction Russia.
'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,'' the president told journalists at the Oval Office.
Ms Mobbs said Melania, who grew up near the Iron Curtain in former Yugoslavia, could now play a pivotal role if the president can secure a lasting peace.
'I think as we think about the future of Ukraine, or post war Ukraine, I think her influence could be very important, and I think that she could be and she should and could play a huge role.'
Asked if Mrs Trump could make an unannounced visit to Western Ukraine like Jill Biden, her predecessor, Ms Mobbs said: 'I think it would be fabulous.
'I've always told people the best way to approach Melania around all of this is through fashion, through art, which is the other piece of it.
'It's both around the victimisation of children and women, which you feel so deeply about, and around this like the very, very beautiful and interesting, creative side of Ukraine that will be fascinating to her.'
Ms Mobbs, a mother of two, runs the RT Weatherman Foundation humanitarian mission. She is an ardent supporter of Mr Trump and close to her father, Gen Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general.
During the opening months of Mr Trump's presidency, Gen Kellogg appeared to have been frozen out of discussions about the future of Ukraine and Russia in favour of more pro-Putin forces inside the Maga wing of the Republican party.
But he has recently seen his star rising, alongside other more hawkish officials including Marco Rubio, the secretary of state.
Ms Mobbs said she now believes Mr Trump has turned his back on the Putin cheerleaders to embrace Ukraine, claiming that 'bad actors' in conservative America no longer have the president's ear.
'I shouldn't call them conservatives, I don't think they're conservatives. But in a social media influencer network that was spreading misinformation and disinformation about Ukraine, I think, unfortunately, for a period of time, they had the president's ear.
'I do think that is changing.'
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Republican and Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist, are amongst those to have raised concerns about Mr Trump's $10bn deal with Nato allies to send US-made military equipment to Ukraine.
Others, like Tucker Carlson, former Fox News anchor, have remained silent, but are known for their pro-Kremlin views and abilities to influence Mr Trump's decision making.
Ms Mobbs argues that there is nothing more Maga or 'pro-American' than sending weapons to Ukriane, especially if someone else picks up the bill.
Under the deal brokered between Mr Trump and Nato, allies have promised to largely pay for missiles, Patriot air-defence systems and ammunition delivered to Kyiv by Washington.
'This is a major Maga win, right? And nothing is more Maga than getting someone else to pay for our stuff.'
She added: 'I think supporting Ukraine is the most pro-American thing you can do. And I think dad deeply believes that as well.'
Gen Kellogg has been shuttling back and forth to Kyiv, where Ms Mobbs resides, for months relaying Ukraine's demands.
Hours after Mr Trump and Putin discussed an end to the war over the telephone, Moscow launched a torrent of missiles and drones in the direction of the Ukrainian capital.
'It's not something to be flippant about, but I was a little bit like, 'Dad, you know how bad things are, let's be honest no peace here,'' the 38-year-old explained.
Gen Kellogg's main strategy for convincing his boss to change tack was to explain that Mr Trump could one day end up on the wrong side of history, alongside the likes of Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister best known for not standing up to Adolf Hitler.
Repeating her father's warnings to Mr Trump, Ms Mobbs said: 'Mr President, if you do not change course here, this is how history will remember you, and I know you do not want that.'
Just four days after Mr Trump and Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary-general, announced the support deal in the Oval Office, Ukraine received its first Patriot air-defence battery and the interceptor missiles to be used alongside it.
It would normally take months between promised deliveries and their emergence in the war-torn country.
Mr Trump's administration has 'cut through all the bureaucratic bulls---', Ms Mobbs said.
'The rapidity of action in war is critical.
'I think the president, by the way, sees this as part of a broader effort of signalling to Putin that he's overstepped, and unlike Biden, we're going to move more aggressively and effectively.'