House Republican Who Routinely Opposes Trump Praises First Lady: ‘We Owe Melania Some Thanks’

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska offered a rare and indirect bit of praise for the Trump White House on Sunday.

Days after President Donald Trump linked his evolving position on Russian intransigence to comments from first lady Melania Trump, Bacon said that Trump’s recent criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin was a good sign, according to The Hill.

“Well, I’m glad that the president has pivoted on Ukraine,” Bacon said during an appearance on the NewsNation show “The Hill Sunday.”

“I think we owe Melania some thanks here. Even the president said that his wife reminds him every day that Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities every night,” he said.

Last Monday, Trump announced an arrangement with NATO nations that would ship arms to Ukraine and said 100 percent secondary economic sanctions could be slapped upon nations doing business with Russia in 50 days.

Trump explained that he had run out of patience with Putin, who promised much and delivered little.

“I think we should have total moral clarity here. Russia is the invader. They’re bombing the cities. And what will happen if Russia prevails in Ukraine? And we should have this clarity. We know Moldova will likely follow immediately. Georgia and Azerbaijan are very vulnerable,” Bacon said.

“If we fail in Ukraine, it’s going to cost us a lot more in the future. And Ukraine, how do we get here? They wanted to be aligned with the West. They want to be democracy. They want free markets. They’d like to be in the EU. And Russia couldn’t tolerate that,” he said.

Bacson said he hopes Trump goes further to support Ukraine.

“And so I hope the president does more than just sell weapons to NATO, for NATO to give to Ukraine. I hope that he does that, plus more,” he said.

Speaking of the secondary sanctions, Bacon said, “I wish it wasn’t 50 days. I wish it was like 20 days or 30 days, but we do need to punish China, Iran, North Korea, for basically propping up Russia’s war effort against Ukraine.”

In March, Bacon took Trump to task for his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, as noted by the Nebraska Examiner.

“America is the leader of the free world, we’re the indispensable power. No one can stand up to Russia and China if we’re not a part of that,” he said, adding, “Ukraine is the victim.”

Bacon said that at the time he was unsure of Trump’s motive, but added, “All I know is what he says. And when he says Russia is not the invader and [that] it’s Ukraine’s fault, that’s just wrong.”

During the night, the Russian army once again hit the entrance to a subway station in Kiev, where people were hiding at the time. Heavy smoke began to billow…. pic.twitter.com/S84UTLRnrG

— Chief Rabbi Of Ukraine Moshe Azman (@RabbiUkraine) July 21, 2025

Overnight, Russia launched a major missile attack on Ukraine, killing two people and wounding 15, according to the Associated Press.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal called for the weapons Trump said would flow to move to Ukraine as quickly as possible.

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