French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that Donald Trump had believed Ukraine would lose the war, which is why he pushed for a rapid peace deal in early 2025. According to Macron, Trump now realizes his assessments were fundamentally wrong and has gained respect for the perseverance of the Ukrainian people.
French President Emmanuel Macron offered a detailed account Friday of how U.S. President Donald Trump's view of the Ukraine war has evolved over the past year. Speaking to reporters, Macron said Trump believed Ukraine was on the verge of defeat in early 2025, which drove his push for a quick peace deal in January–February of that year — a period Macron said now feels like distant history.
According to Macron, a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ankorg came close to placing an agreement on the table that would have granted Russia Ukrainian territory that had not yet been captured. Following that, a Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington in August to explain such an arrangement was not viable.
Macron asserted that Ukraine's demonstrated resilience and capabilities have changed Trump's perspective. The French leader said Trump now understands that the predictions he received — that Ukraine would collapse or not survive the winter — were fundamentally wrong, and that he now stands before brave people he respects.
The remarks add a European leader's on-the-record assessment to the evolving U.S. posture on Ukraine, which The Zioneer has tracked through multiple Trump statements this week. As of this writing, neither the White House nor the Ukrainian presidency has responded to Macron's account.
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