Ukrainians hail Melania Trump for challenging husband's faith in Putin
Speaking at a meeting in the White House on Monday with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump said his wife had played a key role in pointing out Vladimir Putin's duplicity.
'My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant. I say, isn't that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night,' Trump said.
'I go home, I tell the first lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said: Really? Another city was just hit.'
Slovenian-born Melania Trump, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, has previously appeared to be a bigger supporter of Ukraine than the sceptical US president, who in February this year called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator. Shortly after the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion, she appealed to her social media followers to donate to the Red Cross, saying it was 'heartbreaking and horrific to see innocent people suffering'.
After Trump's Oval Office comments on Monday, one social media user posted a photo of 'Agent Melania Trumpenko' wearing a blazer with a Ukrainian trident insignia. Her face is half-shaded with a big hat, giving the impression she is working undercover inside the White House, to Kyiv's benefit.
Agent Melania Trumpenko pic.twitter.com/rVzf6tJfvJ
The magazine Business in Ukraine observed that 'there is a lot of love on social media tonight for Melania Trump' after the announcement that the US would send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine.
It reproduced a longstanding meme featuring three creatures wearing an army helmet and military caps. The image is used to denote a western politician or celebrity who supports or is friendly to Ukraine. The creatures give Melania a hat decorated with a Ukrainian flag.
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Another meme shows the first lady standing behind her husband in the Oval Office, while he signs a presidential decree.
The caption reads: 'Sisters Melania of the Bene Gesserit' – a reference to the powerful, secret and politically influential sisterhood from Frank Herbert's science fiction book Dune.
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