President Donald Trump, on Thursday night, hosted a dinner with tech industry leaders, including former Trump critics such as Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Bill Gates. Trump’s former “co-president,” Elon Musk, was not there, but he did state that he had been invited and sent a representative instead.
After the dinner, held in the State Dining Room, Trump took questions from reporters. One asked him if, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, he planned to also speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, “in the near future.”
Trump, it appeared, was not able to hear the question, and the first lady, who was seated to his left, whispered the question to him, as if she were translating from a foreign language. After doing so, Trump answered that “I will be,” in reference to speaking with Putin.
Reporter: Do you plan to speak with Putin in the near future?
Trump: What?
Melania Trump: If you’re going to speak with President Putin in the near future pic.twitter.com/tu9hWZUoNq
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 5, 2025
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
There were some surprised social media reactions to that moment:
Reminds me of the hearing aid sketch from Fawlty Towers.
But Biden was too old. Remember that. https://t.co/2HOPAAmv5o
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) September 5, 2025
Oof…this is giving me late-Reagan presidency vibes when Nancy was covering for the fact he was in steep decline. https://t.co/S59nDKZdbA
— Sheryl (@Serenade_az) September 5, 2025
According to Search Labs AI, “Yes, wives often provide care for elderly spouses and loved ones, as women historically serve as primary caregivers for older adults.” https://t.co/hR0pbaEL8F
— Laurence (Larry) Boorstein (@LarryBoorstein) September 5, 2025
Back in August, Trump had shared a letter written by Melania Trump that was presented to Putin during the Alaska summit.
“Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger,” the First Lady wrote in the letter.
“A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity — an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology,” the letter continued. “In today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them — a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future.”
The letter does not appear to have convinced Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
