Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration considered making a deal that would have lined Melania Trump’s pockets in order to curry favor with the new president, according to a report.
As part of a desperate scramble to make inroads with Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president’s aides floated brokering the purchase of the Ukrainian language rights to the first lady’s memoir, unnamed Ukrainian officials told The New York Times.
The idea reportedly never made it beyond the brainstorming stage, however.
Melania Trump’s memoir, which was published in October, detailed where her personal beliefs differed from her husband’s rhetoric—in particular her support of abortion rights.
Trump has been an outspoken critic of the scale of American aid to Ukraine’s war effort and had vowed to end the conflict, which has raged for nearly two years, within 24 hours of becoming president.
Zelensky’s effort to win over Trump has included more typical approaches to diplomacy as well.
The Ukrainian president was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on his victory in November. The two had an apparently pleasant phone call at the time that included a surprise appearance from Elon Musk.
“I had an excellent call with President @realDonaldTrump and congratulated him on his historic landslide victory—his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work,” Zelensky wrote on X afterward.
In December, the Ukrainian leader joined French President Emmanuel Macron for a conversation with Trump in Paris.
Since being sworn into office on Monday, Trump has pushed hard to make good on his promise to end the war in Ukraine. On Wednesday, that included issuing an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin—whose relationship with Trump has long drawn scrutiny.
“Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
The Kremlin brushed that threat aside.
