Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired Michigan teacher held by Russia since 2022, was already on his way home when Witkoff delivered the thanks in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. By the time Vance took questions in Cincinnati, three Republicans from the president's own party had publicly attacked the envoy's choice of words — and the vice president stood by him.
President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for releasing an American prisoner, and he did not stop at thanks. "Because of you, he's going home to his family," Witkoff told Putin, according to the Kremlin's readout of their meeting. "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again."
"You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again."
Hubbard was captured in eastern Ukraine in April 2022 and convicted by a closed Russian court in 2024 of mercenary activity, receiving a sentence of nearly seven years. The United States had designated him wrongfully detained. Trump said he asked Putin to free Hubbard during a phone call last week and that the United States gave nothing in return — "Welcome home, Stephen, it's great to have you back," he wrote. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had acted out of "humanitarian considerations." Witkoff was in St. Petersburg for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, and Russia signalled the same day that it is ready to resume trilateral peace talks.
The word "humanitarian" drew fire from Republicans within hours. "WTF, Steve?" North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis wrote. "Look up the definition of 'humanitarian.' What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say. You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree your friend Putin is a 'humanitarian.'" Texas Sen. John Cornyn, responding to a video of the remarks, wrote: "No. Putin is a stone cold killer." Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon called it "Another embarrassment."
Asked about the remark at the FBI's Cincinnati field office later on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance defended the envoy directly. "I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage," Vance said. "Whether you agree with the underlying sentiment or not, Steve Witkoff is a diplomat. His job is to go over there and get a job done. I care much less about what Steve said than the fact that he is bringing an American hostage home to his family. We should all be celebrating that, not be complaining about what Steve Witkoff said in order to get it done." Critics noted the praise landed a week after Trump waived new U.S. sanctions on Russia and relaxed sanctions on Russian diesel — moves the administration says keep negotiations alive.
Hubbard's release leaves other Americans still in Russian custody, and the argument in Washington is really about how an American envoy should talk to the man holding them. Vance's bottom line in Cincinnati was that the envoy had been sent to bring Americans home and move the talks — in his words, Witkoff's job was to "get a job done," and on Wednesday the job included a 74-year-old American on his way back to his family.