Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel called President Trump “a hero” Tuesday in his first remarks since the president’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 – they got me home – they are 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 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.”
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 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.
