Trump Changed His Mind About Ukraine After Failed Predictions of Its Defeat, Says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that upon his return to the White House, Donald Trump considered Ukraine’s defeat inevitable, but later changed his position.
According to Macron, in early 2025, the U.S. president was convinced that Ukraine would not be able to hold out in the war against Russia, so he sought a peaceful settlement as quickly as possible.
“Remember, January–February 2025… He thought Ukraine would lose. Everything went wrong in the Oval Office during the meeting with Zelenskyy, and then... the summit between Trump and Putin raised hopes for a deal under which Ukraine would be asked to cede territories that Russia hadn’t even captured yet,” Macron said.
The French president noted that representatives from European countries subsequently traveled to Washington to convey their position that such a scenario was unacceptable.
“After that, in the middle of August, we traveled with a delegation to Washington, where we made it clear that this was impossible,” he emphasized.
Macron is convinced that, over time, Trump changed his view of the situation after seeing the reality on the front lines and the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
“We’ve come a long way since then. And this progress is, first and foremost, a testament to the Ukrainians’ victory, their capabilities, and their persuasiveness. President Trump saw that everything he had been told—that the Ukrainians would fall, that they wouldn’t survive the winter—turned out to be untrue. He saw that he was facing courageous, resourceful people whom he respects,” the French president concluded.
Macron believes that it was Ukraine’s resilience and the Ukrainians’ successes that compelled the U.S. president to reconsider his previous assessments of the war’s course and Kyiv’s prospects in its confrontation with Russia.
The French leader spoke about this in an interview with France TV.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Russia must reach an agreement and cease hostilities, as the war is inflicting enormous losses on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
European officials have expressed concern over possible moves by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the peace process in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The EU fears that, following the easing of tensions surrounding Iran, the White House may take control of the negotiation process.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the negotiating room for the first session of the G7 summit alongside U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
