European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, traveled to the White House Aug. 18, 2025, for ongoing peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. (Getty Images)
European leaders who joined the meeting at the White House Monday included Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Macron joined NBC News following his White House meeting, and was asked point-blank about Trump's comments to him.
"What went through your head when he said that to you?" NBC's Kristen Welker asked Macron after reading a transcript of Trump's exchange with Marcon earlier that day.
President Donald Trump hosted a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside a handful of European leaders, including French President Macron, at the White House Aug. 18, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
"Maybe they're getting along a little bit better than I thought. Otherwise, I wouldn't have set up the two (of them) meeting, I would have set up a (trilateral meeting)."
Trump added that the negotiations will not include admitting Ukraine into NATO, but said some European nations have agreed to provide NATO-like protections, including security guarantees.
BACK FROM ALASKA, TRUMP STARTS WEEK WITH CRUCIAL FOREIGN POLICY TALKS OVER UKRAINE WAR
Trump met with Putin in Alaska Friday, which did not yield a peace deal but opened the door to more in-depth peace talks following Trump's campaign trail pledge to end the bloody war that began under his predecessor's tenure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump at the White House Aug. 18, 2025, as the U.S. president looks to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump called Putin following his White House meetings Monday and set the table for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, Trump said in a Truth Social post this week.
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"At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy," Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday evening of the next steps towards peace. "After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Fox News Digital's Taylor Penny contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-whispers-crazy-putin-deal-theory-macron-hot-mic-moment