Which First Lady Built the First Back-Channel to Russia?

When history rhymes, it's worth a listen.

They say that history doesn’t repeat itself but it rhymes. Two recent news items do just that. The first came from First Lady Melania Trump, who announced on October 10, 2025 that she has been communicating with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reunite displaced Ukrainian children with their parents.

The second was the announcement of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado as the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, which many viewed as a snub to President Trump because of his many successful unparalleled efforts to end multiple wars. Both of these news items “rhyme” with a little known story about a another larger-than-life president from New York and his wife.

But first, here's what Mrs. Trump has been doing behind the scenes with Russia.

“Much has unfolded since President Putin received my letter last August. He responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia,” Melania Trump announced in front of the blue oval room on the White House’s state floor hallway.

She then revealed her back-channel communication with the Russian president.

“And since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children. For the past three months, both sides have participated in several back-channel meetings and calls, all in good faith. We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war.”

Without identifying her representative’s name, she announced that eight children had been rejoined with their families in the pat 24 hours.

“Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine.”

Mrs. Trump revealed that the Russian Federation had provided biographies and photographs of each child as well as appropriate social, medical and psychological services.

“As first lady, this is an important initiative for me. It is built on shared purpose and lasting impact,” she said, noting that efforts are ongoing and expressing hope for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Rhyme #1

What the First Lady likely doesn’t know is that she is not the first presidential wife to open a back channel of communication with Russia. Edith Roosevelt did something similar.

President Theodore Roosevelt described his wife Edith as “wise as mistress of the White House.” When they moved their six children into the White House in 1901, they found a cramped, 100-year-old building dripping with heavy Victorian furnishings. Their living quarters were located on the same floor as the president’s office along with his staff’s offices. Edith described their uncomfortable circumstance as “living over a store.”

Together, Theodore and Edith renovated the White House and built the West Wing. (When I worked at the White House, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of The West Wing.) The president noted that his wife was “very happy with it.”

With the renovation complete, Edith could have easily relaxed and enjoyed her success. But an opportunity came along in January 1905 that she couldn’t refuse. Edith stepped out of her domestic bliss and into diplomatic ties. She eagerly worked behind the scenes to construct peace.

Russia and Japan were at war. President Roosevelt wanted to solve the conflict before it became a world war involving the United States. He turned to a friend that he and Edith had met on their honeymoon in London years earlier: Cecil Spring Rice. By this time, Rice was a British diplomat in Russia. Roosevelt invited him to a private dinner at his home in New York. He discovered that his British friend’s knowledge of what was going on in the Russian and Japanese war was exactly the intelligence that he needed. But there was a problem. Because Rice was a foreign diplomat, any written correspondence with him had to go through official channels in London and Washington, DC.

Theodore, Cecil, and Edith devised a plan. When Rice obtained new information about Russian Emperor Nicholas II, he wrote a letter to Edith. By writing Edith instead of the president, he could bypass the British foreign office and the U.S. State Department and, at the same time, provide President Roosevelt with the information he needed to end the war between Russia and Japan. Edith passed on each letter from Cecil to her husband.[i]

Through her quiet work, she helped her husband to shine. President Roosevelt hosted peace talks with Japan and Russia on Long Island. Without Edith’s willingness to participate, he might have failed. By taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity in the realm of diplomacy, Edith played important role in world peace. First lady Melania Trump is doing something similar.

Presidents and first ladies over the years often realize that their time time in national leadership is limited and they must make the most of every minute ticking away on the clock.

Mrs. Trump also has something in common with the first, first lady. After British soldiers burned the White House in 1814, Dolley Madison started an orphanage after the War of 1812 ended. This was the first time that the president's wife engaged in charitable work. She expanded the role from being a hostess into being a humanitarian. Dolley's efforts led her to be called the “First Lady of the land at her death,” which coined the familiar title. (A side note. I am currently working on turning this story into a film called White House Phoenix).

I think it's interesting that the first charity a first lady started was an orphanage for children. Mrs. Trump is showing that same impulse by using her role to draw the world's attention to the crisis of Ukrainian children separated from their families.

Rhyme #2

The second historical rhyme involves the Nobel Prize. President Theodore Roosevelt's success in brokering peace between Russia and Japan earned him the Noble Peace Prize in 1906, making him the first American and first U.S. president to win the honor.

News of this years Nobel Peace prize winner broke on the same day as Mrs. Trump's White House announcement. Though not surprised, many believed that President Trump was snubbed because of his success and ending several wars in the first months of his presidency.

This led to another historical rhyme. Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the Nobel Peace Committee’s “credibility has largely been lost.”

“There’ve been cases when the Nobel committee awarded the prize to people who’ve done nothing for peace,” Putin said, without naming names. “That’s damaged the prize’s prestige.”

When asked if Trump deserved the prize, Putin said Trump “is really doing a lot to solve crises that have lasted years, in some cases decades.”

Trump “sincerely is aiming for peace” in Ukraine, Putin said, adding “the most striking example” of his peacemaking credentials “is the situation in the Middle East.” Earlier this week, President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a peace plan to end the war between them.

As you can see, history sometimes rhymes. They include: back channels to Russia, the Nobel Peace Prize, First Ladies’ charitable efforts to help children in crisis, and the efforts of both Roosevelt and Trump to end wars. Who knows, perhaps next year the president and the first lady might jointly win the Nobel Peace Prize.

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[i] Sylvia Jukes Morris, Edith Kermit Roosevelt, 285-87.