Trump meets Marc Fogel at White House after American freed

Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel called President Trump “a hero” Tuesday in his first remarks since the commander in chief’s administration secured his release from a Russian prison.

“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said after meeting Trump at the White House.

“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel continued. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes.”

“I am in awe of what they all did.”

Trump, 78, greeted Fogel outside the White House on a snowy night in Washington just hours after his administration negotiated a deal to free the wrongfully detained American.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) were among several dignitaries that lined up behind the president to shake the elated Fogel’s hand.

Fogel had been wrongfully detained for the last three and a half years in Russia after being arrested with what he claimed was legally prescribed marijuana.

National security adviser Mike Waltz announced earlier in the day that the president, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and other Trump advisers successfully “negotiated an exchange” for Fogel that “serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”

Trump described the terms of the deal with the Kremlin to free Fogel as “very fair” and “very reasonable.”

The president also suggested that it could be a major part of negotiations to end the nearly three year long war in Ukraine.

“I think this could be a very important element,” Trump said.

“You could be a big part of it, actually,” he continued, gesturing at Fogel, “because it could be a big, important part of getting the war over with Ukraine.”

Trump would not say if he spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin about securing Fogel’s release but expressed his appreciation for his counterpart in the Kremlin.

Fogel noted that Putin was “very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon.”

Fogel was accompanied by Witkoff on his flight back to the US ahead of his White House welcome.

The White House released an image of Fogel draped in an American flag, wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers beanie and with his fist in the air as he deplaned upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, DC.

“PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!!” read an X post by the White House, sharing the image.

It’s unclear which or how many Russians – if any – held by the US were being released in exchange for Fogel’s freedom.

It’s unclear which or how many Russians held by the US were being released in exchange for Fogel’s freedom.

“This is a case that languished under the Biden administration,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said of Fogel’s detention, during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “They really didn’t give it priority.”

“It is really a happy occasion for all Americans but certainly for Mr. Fogel’s family,” Rubio added.

Fogel, a husband and father of two, was left out of an August 2024 prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, corporate security executive Paul Whelan and others.

The following month, the State Department officially designated Fogel as wrongfully detained, forcing the federal government to work on his release.

Russian authorities arrested Fogel – who had been living in Russia for almost a decade – at an airport outside of Moscow in August 2021 and found he was in possession of about half an ounce of medical marijuana he had been prescribed in the US for chronic pain.

Fogel was sentenced to serve 14 years in a Russian labor camp in June 2022.

“There were times when it was extremely trying, and there were times when I could manage it,” Fogel said of his ordeal.

The Russians “had me in hospitals for more than 100 days,” Fogel said. “I was given more than 400 injections in that…