Melania Trump steps in to help as Trump mishears reporter during White House tech dinner: Here's what happened

At a White House dinner with tech leaders, Melania Trump guided President Trump after he misheard a reporter’s question about speaking with Putin.

Published on: Sep 6, 2025, 17:26:26 IST

By HT US Desk

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President Donald Trump, 79, was helped by first lady Melania Trump during a televised dinner with tech leaders on Thursday after he misheard a reporter’s question about speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Donald Trump, 79, was helped by first lady Melania Trump during a televised dinner with tech leaders on Thursday. (Reuters)

“After your phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky today, do you plan to speak with Russia’s President Putin in the near future?” a reporter asked during the AI-focused event.

“What?” Trump mumbled softly, turning toward the first lady. “If you’re going to speak with President Putin in the near future,” Melania repeated, according to The Mirror.

Also Read: ‘How much will you invest in US?’: Donald Trump grills Tim Cook after saying Apple CEO is ‘coming home’

Dinner took place White House Rose Garden

The dinner took place in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden and was attended by about two dozen tech leaders, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, OpenAI founder Sam Altman, Google CEO Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Since retaking office earlier this year, many tech leaders have scaled back policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion to show loyalty to Trump. Last month, Cook presented Trump with a gilded glass trophy at the White House to mark Apple’s $100 billion commitment to US manufacturing.

Netizens react to the incident

The video of the Trumps at the dinner quickly went viral on social media, drawing a range of reactions from viewers. One of the users on X wrote, “Nice to see that level of coordination—small gestures can make a big difference in public appearances.”

Another user chimed, “They just look great together any time anyway. I'm so proud of them.”

A different user penned, “It's beautiful that his wife repeated a sentence? The bar is really low.”

Another user advised Trump a hearing device and wrote, “Time for a hearing device. This has been happening quite a bit lately.”

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HT US Desk
The Hindustan Times US Desk brings you the latest news and developments from across the United States. The team covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports, business, entertainment and stories that are trending across the country. Our coverage includes the White House, Congress, US elections, immigration and visa updates, H-1B, green cards, Social Security, education, jobs, layoffs, the economy, technology and major policy changes. We also closely follow stories that matter to Indian and South Asian communities in the US. The desk covers major US sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, along with player news, injuries, schedules, results and major events. Entertainment coverage includes Hollywood, celebrities, television, streaming, music and pop culture. We also report on breaking developments, major incidents, weather, public safety, court cases and other stories making headlines across the country. When a major policy or news development affects people's everyday lives, the team works to explain what happened, what it means and what readers need to know. Alongside breaking news, the US Desk produces explainers and practical stories on topics such as immigration, Social Security, taxes, education, employment and government programmes. The team also works on science, tech, business and AI stories analyzing the impact they may have on people. The team follows developments throughout the day, keeping an eye on official announcements, public records, reliable news sources and what people are talking about across the US.Read More

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