Melania Trump penned a letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin — but critics think she should be writing one to her husband as well. In the letter, Melania urged Putin to think of the children in Ukraine and Russia as the war involving the two countries continues.
On Friday, August 15, U.S. president Donald Trump met with Putin in Alaska. According to Reuters, Donald brought his wife’s letter to the meeting and hand-delivered it to Putin. At the time, the contents of the letter were not known, but Melania later shared it on social media.
“Dear President Putin,” the letter started. “Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. The dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.”
Throughout her letter, she urged Putin to “protect the innocence of these children.” She explained that doing so would “do more than serve Russia alone” because it would also “serve humanity itself.”
“As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope,” the letter stated. “As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few. Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all — so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.”
Elsewhere, she wrote about how children “begin their lives with a purity,” but “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.”
Melania continued, “Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.”
While some supporters called Melania a “class act” and found the message “powerful,” others called it hypocritical.
“Write your husband a letter!!!!” one critic wrote. “The children here in America are having benefits stripped away from them — healthcare, food, education, stripped away from their families, missing their cancer treatments & so much more!” Then, referring to a controversial jacket Melania previously wore, the critic added, “OR is it still, ‘I don’t care, do you?'”
Additionally, several critics mentioned the Jeffrey Epstein files. “Please write a letter asking your husband to release the Epstein files,” one of them wrote.
Donald’s meeting with Putin ended without any clear agreement to end the war, but Donald called it “extremely productive.” He said, “There were many, many points that we agreed on,” per BBC.
