On Friday, Tucker Carlson featured an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s wife Cheryl Hines, who highlighted First Lady Melania Trump’s behind-the-scenes work aiding children and reuniting families displaced by conflict. Hines praised Trump for her quiet dedication, noting, “She doesn’t need fanfare for it. But she really works hard.”

Trump revealed in the interview that she has maintained an “open channel of communication” with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past three months to address the welfare of children affected by the war in Ukraine. She stated that her representatives and Putin’s office have engaged in “several backchannel meetings and calls, all in good faith,” focusing on reuniting displaced families.

According to Trump, eight Ukrainian children were reportedly reunited with their families within 24 hours as part of this initiative. Three had been separated inside Russia due to frontline fighting, while five were cut off from relatives across borders since the conflict’s early stages. She claimed to have received documentation and photographs from Russian officials, including a “verification report” from Ukrainian and Russian child rights commissioners, which she said was confirmed by the U.S. government.

Trump emphasized her ongoing mission to “optimize a transparent, free-flow exchange of information” about children impacted by the war and to ensure regular communication between families until they are reunited. Hines described Trump as having “a very big, genuine heart” and praised her “unparalleled compassion for children.”