Trump caught on hot mic talking to Macron: ‘I think he wants to make a deal for me’

President Donald Trump was caught on a hot mic at the Aug. 18 meeting with European leaders at the White House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven other European leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., in hopes of making progress toward peace between Russian and Ukraine as the conflict approaches four years. The meeting follows Trump’s in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15.

As the leaders gathered for a group photo, Trump made an aside comment, apparently intended to be private, about Putin.

“I think he wants to make a deal for me,” Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron in the exchange. “Do you understand? As crazy as it sounds.”

What happened at the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump?

Zelenskyy’s August trip to the White House had far fewer fireworks than the February visit, when he was berated by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

In addition to Zelenskyy and Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also attended the summit on Aug. 18.

Zelenskyy, wearing a black suit instead of the military garb that drew comments in February, met with Trump in the Oval Office ahead of the wider group of foreign leaders. He also thanked Trump, something Vance had criticized Zelenskyy of not doing during the previous Oval Office spat.

Trump then met with the European leaders in the White House East Room, saying they would know “in a week or two weeks” if a deal to stop the fighting is possible.

After the day of meetings with the European leaders, Trump called Putin to urge him to meet with Zelenskyy. Trump deemed it a step in the right direction.

“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. 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,” he wrote on Truth Social. “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.”

Although the meeting showed strong European unity, it was unclear whether major progress toward peace was made. Trump said the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in a deal, but did not clarify the extent of the commitment. He also appeared to dismiss the need for a ceasefire ahead of peace negotiations.

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard, Francesca Chambers, Bart Jansen, Joey Garrison, Zac Anderson, Sarah D. Wire, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY