Trump Gets Praise From Geraldo For Trying To Broker Russia-Ukraine Deal

Geraldo Rivera praised President Donald Trump on Newsmax Monday for his diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Trump in the Oval Office just three days after Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several months after their tense February encounter. Rivera said on “NewsNation Now” that Trump’s composure on the world stage contrasted with how his critics portray him.

“Just a note about President Trump’s demeanor and the charisma that he projected today. I thought that it was really heartening, and I was very proud of him,” Rivera said.

Rivera recounted a moment from the Alaska summit, describing how First Lady Melania Trump hand-delivered a personal letter to Vladimir Putin that urged him to pursue peace for the sake of children caught in the war.

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“And when you think back to Alaska just a few days ago, what memory do you bring, aside from the visuals, obviously, was Melania Trump, our elegant first lady, you know, our underrated first lady coming forward with that letter, her own letter of her own initiatives, hand delivered to Vladimir Putin,” Rivera added. “He read it, and U.S. aides were watching as he read it, where she implored him basically to make peace for the good of the children.”

Rivera turned to the human cost of the war, warning that any peace deal must address Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children.

“And on the issue of children, you know, we have to make sure that Russia is not rewarded for the crimes that it has committed. And one of the most egregious, as you have been reporting, Hannah, is this, the missing children, the missing Ukrainian children,” Rivera said. “Twenty thousand to 40,000 of them snatched from what is now occupied Ukraine, taken to Russia, where they’re Russified, you know, the brainwash not to speak the Ukrainian language taken from their parents.”

Zelenskyy joined several European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss terms for a potential peace settlement in the war. Before the meeting, Trump urged Zelenskyy to abandon Ukraine’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and to drop efforts to reclaim Crimea. (RELATED: Trump Reveals What Advice He’ll Give Zelenskyy)

Russia has held the Crimean peninsula since 2014, though most countries reject its claim to the territory. In the latest round of talks, Putin reportedly insisted on formally absorbing the Donbas region, where Russian troops already control most of the area.

Putin has repeatedly warned that allowing Ukraine to join NATO crosses a red line. NATO moved to accelerate Ukraine’s path to membership in 2023, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff floated an alternative to joining NATO, suggesting Washington could extend security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5 without granting Ukraine full membership.

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