Is First Lady Melania influencing Donald Trump against Vladimir Putin? UK diplomats to find out

Diplomats at Westminster, London, are increasingly focusing their efforts on Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States. Policy experts believe that the first lady may be behind some recent changes in Donald Trump's stance towards Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a surprising turn of events, on July 27, Trump made statements declaring that Palestinians were starving in Gaza and that the pictures of starving children could not be faked. British diplomats believe that it was likely due to Melania’s influence that such a turnaround was made, according to a report by Patrick Wintour for The Guardian. 

The US president had also recently acknowledged that it was his wife who suggested that Vladimir Putin may not have been sincere about wanting a peace deal with Ukraine. 

According to sources who spoke to the agency, aside from what Trump says about Melania, it is clear that he treats her views with respect in private. One source said, “Starmer has earned Trump’s respect and will tell him in the right way if he disagrees. But she is the one who matters.”

After the first lady released her memoir ‘Melania’, critics said that she came off as “an extremely superficial, politically disengaged human being, the last kind of person who you would think of as a political wife”. She also quite often disappears from the public eye to spend time with her son in New York. Reports in late May showed that she might have only spent two weeks in the White House after Trump was sworn in.

Melania's influence has been highlighted a few times during her time as the first lady. In a chat show, she said that she often gives Trump advice, which he “sometimes listens to, sometimes not.” The two have often disagreed on issues like COVID-19 and abortion rights, which she supports. 

She has also publicly called out the White House on its policy of separating migrant children from their parents, calling it “cruel” in 2018. She had said that she was 'caught off guard' at the time.

She was listed as the 10th most influential person in Trump’s administration on a February 2025 poll, right behind Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The report said that all of the above instances made it harder for the diplomats to figure out which members of the president's inner circle they needed to work with.

Lord Mandelson, a  British ambassador, who has to track Trump’s unpredictable decision-making, has said: “I’ve never been in a town or a political system that is so dominated by one individual. Usually, you’re entering an ecosystem rather than the world of one personality.” 

However, the report says that British officials have finally found their answer in Melania Trump. 

In his second term, Trump has more openly noted that his wife has affected his thinking. The statement, however, could also have been just a way of reaching a different demographic of women voters.

When it came to the Russian president, Trump has credited Melania with questioning his views. At a meeting with Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary General, on 15 July, he said: “I go home. I tell the first lady: ‘I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ She said: ‘Oh really? Another city was just hit.’” 

Trump, when asked about the first lady’s influence on him, has said, “Melania is very smart. She’s very neutral. She’s very neutral; in a sense she’s sort of like me. She’d like to see people stop dying.” 

Melania’s observations have led Trump to question his views. 

When Russia first launched the invasion of Ukraine, Trump had called it “genius”. Melania, on the other hand, posted on X saying, “It is heartbreaking and horrific to see innocent people suffering. My thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people. Please, if you can, donate to help them @ICRC.” She also added, “and not, notably, to the people of Russia.”  

Melania was born the daughter of a wealthy textile worker and car trader. She and her sister, Ines Knauss, were educated in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. However, she has also said that she felt more connected to Austria and Italy than to the communist run country. 

The report claimed that Western officials still struggle to adapt to Trump's style of decision-making, which is often led by instinct and informal conversations. The recent assessment by the British officials that Melania is an important influence on Trump is still under question, as it is difficult to really ascertain how much she is actually engaged in White House affairs. 

Both the US president and the first lady are expected to make a visit to Britain in August, and according to the analysis, “it will be the royal family’s job to test the theory that Melania could become a secret ally for Britain at court.” 

World