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President Donald Trump has canceled his planned August vacation at his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort to remain at the White House and continue arranging meetings with Russia and Ukraine, the administration said Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that while presidents typically take time off in August during the congressional recess, Trump opted against it this year.
“This is normally the time when the president goes on vacation, but not this president,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
“There [were] discussions about him working from Bedminster for a couple of weeks, but he decided against it. He’s a man on a mission. He wants to move. Get things done quickly. He wants to strike when the iron is hot,” she added.
The decision marks a change from Trump’s first term, when he took a 17-day trip to Bedminster in August, according to The Hill. Leavitt said the president considered working on the talks from New Jersey but determined that remaining in Washington would better serve ongoing negotiations.
The announcement follows Trump’s meeting last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, and a follow-up gathering Monday at the White House with European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Both meetings focused on efforts to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
Trump has said he is pushing for direct discussions between Putin and Zelensky, which he hopes to expand into a trilateral meeting that would include the United States.
“During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America,” he posted on Truth Social. “Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” he continued. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”