Caught on Hot Mic: Trump and European Leaders' Humorous Comments About the Press

At the end of the meeting, Trump said to the press that all they asked for was "fairness from the media." 

There was a moment of humor immediately after that, when the press was throwing out questions and being typically loud. Leaders Meloni and Finland's President Alexander Stubb were caught on a hot mic expressing admiration for what Trump had to go through with the press and how he handled them. 

The cameras kept rolling for a few moments after the White House meeting with President Trump, Zelensky and European leaders officially ended, in which they were caught on a hot mic moment in a candid exchange about the press. pic.twitter.com/stXSpFMSo4

— New York Post (@nypost) August 18, 2025

"Thank you for being so fair," Meloni said, while seemingly making a face about the reporters. 

"You go through this every day?" Stubb asked, as though he couldn't believe it. Stubb has been the president of Finland for about a year and a half. 

Trump nodded and said, "All the time." 

"But he loves it," Meloni said. "He loves it! He does it always." 

She then admitted, "I never want to speak with my press!" 

Trump praised Stubb to Meloni,  "He's a great golfer, you know." Trump and Stubb have played golf in the past. 

Giorgia Meloni is hilarious. She has a great sense of humor. You can see that she has a deft way of dealing with other leaders. Stubb probably doesn't have to go through the incredible crush of press that Trump does, from what it sounds like. So it's giving the European leaders another level of appreciation for Trump and what he has to go through with our press, which is good. 

Trump sounded positive about the prospects after the meeting. He revealed that they had discussed security guarantees, which he said would be provided by the European countries. Trump said that the next step was for Zelensky to meet with Putin, followed by the trilateral meeting.