The first lady gave a cryptic three-word response when asked about her visit to Ukraine, amid a growing dispute over who actually brokered a ceasefire.
Melania Trump plans to visit war-torn Ukraine after triumphantly announcing Friday that she had personally brokered a localized ceasefire in the country.
After Melania and her husband, President Donald Trump, voted Saturday in the midterm elections at a West Palm Beach, Fla., polling station near their Mar-a-Lago home, the first lady was asked if she planned to travel to Ukraine.
“We’ll see,” she replied cryptically, before quickly turning around and leaving the room.
“It could happen,” added the president, closely following his wife.
“It could happen,” Trump said of his wife traveling to war-torn Ukraine following the ceasefire she claims to have brokered.
Melania sparked a storm on Friday after the White House credited her with single-handedly securing a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, in the town of Oleshky.
The ceasefire aims to allow evacuations and the delivery of vital supplies to the city, whose residents have endured food shortages and disease after years of war.
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Despite much fanfare over Melania’s statement within the administration, outside the White House she was quickly criticized and accused of trying to steal credit from Pope Leo.
The cancer-stricken pontiff had called Russian President Vladimir Putin to request a ceasefire from Oleshky a week before Melania announced her own deal.
The pope called from his hospital bed, where he was recovering from surgery following a diagnosis of lung cancer.
Melania’s top adviser, Marc Beckman, appeared to dismiss the pope’s earlier intervention, insisting that this achievement belonged to the first lady alone.
“Yesterday, she negotiated – single-handedly – a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Oleshky region,” Beckman said. Fox and Friends Weekend SATURDAY.
In fact, according to Beckman, it was Melania who inspired the pope to get involved in this cause, not the other way around.
The president also stands by his wife’s account of how the negotiations went, telling reporters that she is “doing better than the professionals right now.”
“It’s great to have the support of the pope,” Melania added.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the first lady’s office for comment.
Melania was enigmatic when asked about possible plans to visit Ukraine.
Vatican officials, including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, have maintained that the ceasefire was indeed an initiative of the pope, contradicting Trump’s version of events.
Ukrainian official Davyd Arakhamia thanked Melania and Pope Leo for their efforts to achieve a localized ceasefire, describing it as the culmination of a long process involving all parties.
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