President Donald Trump hosted freed American citizen Stephen Hubbard inside the Oval Office on Friday afternoon. Hubbard is a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan who spent over four years inside a Russian prison. Russian authorities had accused him of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine before arresting him in 2022. Hubbard thanked the president for securing his freedom and noted that actions speak louder than words. His son, Father Joseph Coleman, also joined the emotional White House reunion. Hubbard admitted he only believed he was truly free while driving from Moscow to St. Petersburg. He added that he could not have survived another year inside the harsh Russian detention facility.
The prisoner release was announced after special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump insisted there was no prisoner swap or American concession required to bring Hubbard home. However, the president directly linked the diplomatic breakthrough to his recent decision regarding Russian sanctions. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order exempting Moscow from bipartisan sanctions passed by Congress. Trump called critics stupid for demanding tough economic penalties right in the middle of sensitive hostage negotiations. He mocked the idea of asking Putin for Hubbard’s return while simultaneously slapping new sanctions on Russia. Trump told Hubbard he would never have returned home if those congressional penalties had been enforced. Hubbard agreed with the assessment and remarked that Russians simply laugh at American sanctions.
As reporters shouted questions, the conversation shifted quickly to the final weekend of the 2026 midterm campaign. Trump had abruptly canceled scheduled weekend trips to Iowa and Kansas on Thursday in favor of telerallies. Inside the Oval Office, he praised telerallies as a great instrument where he achieves unbelievable success. He boasted that telephone town halls only seem to work for him because nobody answers for other politicians. Despite wanting to stick with phone events, Trump revealed he received urgent calls from allies in both states. Friends in Iowa and Kansas told him that in-person visits would help critical Senate races much more. Trump said he tried talking them out of it, but ultimately relented and scheduled both Sunday rallies.
Reporters also pressed the president on the massive cryptocurrency hack that drained over $6 billion from Binance. Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs recently linked the record heist to the North Korean group TraderTraitor. Trump confirmed the breach was a hack and stated that federal officials are actively investigating North Korea’s involvement. When asked if the stolen billions could be recovered, Trump noted that Binance promised to cover all losses. He expressed longtime skepticism about digital currencies compared to the old-fashioned way of signing a paper check. With crypto thefts, Trump warned that you never see the money anymore, making the system a bit dangerous. Still, he added that platform officials claim to have the situation pretty much under control.
Finally, Trump addressed the ongoing conflict with Iran and defended the financial cost to American taxpayers. He stated that Tehran wants to negotiate and insisted the United States has plenty of time for talks. Trump described the conflict as an atypical war that is not costing taxpayers much money overall. He claimed that any funds spent fighting Iran were made up for in Venezuela by ten times. Trump concluded that he spent a lot of money to successfully eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapon threat.
Sources Used:
- CBS News: Trump meets with Stephen Hubbard at the White House after release from Russian jail
- The Washington Times: Trump ties Hubbard’s release to lifting of sanctions on Russia
- 700WLW / iHeart: Trump Welcomes Freed American Stephen Hubbard To White House
- CBS News: 2026 elections live updates as Trump heads to Florida for rally
- Anadolu Agency: Trump says US ‘looking at’ who was behind Binance hack
- A News: Trump says US ‘looking at’ possibility N. Korea behind Binance hack
- The Times of Israel: Trump says Iran ‘wants to talk,’ and US still ‘has time’ to negotiate
- Al Jazeera: Iran war live updates
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