Stephen Hubbard is home, and the White House wants every American to see the moment. In new video posted Sunday, President Trump stands in the Oval Office beside the freed American and tells the room exactly how it happened.
“This is Steven Hubbard, somebody I wanted to get back, and I spoke to President Putin, and they said, we’ll let him come back,” the President said. “But he’s been through a lot.” Asked how many years Hubbard was held, the answer came back: “Four and a half.” Trump turned to him: “It’s an honor to have you back.”
The White House put it plainly: “An honor to welcome Stephen Hubbard to the Oval Office and back home in America. No president has rescued more American hostages than President Trump.”
Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired Michigan teacher, was taken by Russian forces in Izyum, Ukraine, in 2022. He came home after President Trump asked Vladimir Putin directly for his release, with no prisoner swap and no concessions. At Friday’s visit, the President said the critics who demanded new sanctions in the middle of the talks had it backwards: “The Russians laugh at these sanctions.”
One phone call, one direct ask, and an American family is whole again. That is what leadership looks like, and it is why the hostage count keeps climbing in America’s favor under President Trump.
