President Trump on Monday suggested that first lady Melania Trump convinced him that Russian President Vladimir Putin has continually backed out of his promises over a possible peace deal with Ukraine.
Trump was meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte when he spoke with reporters about the ongoing war.
He explained that his wife pointed out Putin's false promises following Trump's phone calls with the Russian leader amid calls for a deal to end the conflict.
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"I go home. I tell the first lady, 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.' She said, 'Oh, really? another city was just hit,'" he said.
"There's times I'd get home. I'd say, 'First lady, I had three most wonderful talk with Vladimir. I think we're finished.' And then I'll turn on the television, or she'll say to me one time, 'Wow, that's strange because they just bombed a nursing home,'" Trump recalled in another conversation. "I'd say, 'What?'"
Moscow has repeatedly attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles following calls between Putin and Trump.
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Last week, Trump appeared frustrated, saying he wasn't happy with Putin "because he's killing alot of people."
He said he was considering giving Ukraine more aid to help it resist the Russian attacks. On Monday, Trump confirmed that he has agreed to sell arms to NATO just moments after he said Putin has 50 days to secure a peace deal with Ukraine or face "100%" tariffs.
"This is again European nations standing up," Rutte said. "I've been in contact with many countries. I can tell you at this moment Germany, massively, but also Finland and Denmark and Sweden and Norway - we have the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Canada - they all want to be part of this."
"And this is only the first wave. There will be more," Rutte confirmed. "So what we will do is work through the NATO systems to make sure that we know what Ukrainians need."
