Since assuming the presidency, Donald J. Trump has made headlines with the successful return of 47 American citizens previously detained overseas. This initiative is just one facet of his administration’s broader strategy, which centers on projecting American strength and ensuring that no citizen is left behind.
The individuals who have found their way back home include:
Ksenia Karelina — an American ballet dancer who endured 14 months of wrongful imprisonment in a Russian penal colony — returned to the U.S. in April.
- “Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you to bring me home and for [the] American government. And I never felt more blessed to be American — and I’m so, so happy to get home. Thank you,” Karelina expressed.
Marc Fogel — an American educator who faced years of wrongful detention in a Russian prison — returned to the U.S. in February, fulfilling a promise made by President Trump to Fogel’s 95-year-old mother, Malphine.
- “President Trump is a hero … I will forever be indebted to President Trump, to Steve [Witkoff] over there — what a dynamic man this guy is. When I met him, the energy, the can-do attitude just exudes from his body,” Fogel said.
Keith Siegel — an American who endured 484 days as a hostage of Hamas — was liberated in February.
- “I am here and I am alive. President Trump, you saved my life. You saved the life of 33 hostages because of your efforts,” Siegel stated.
George Glezmann — an American held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan for 836 days — was freed in March, reuniting with fellow Americans Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, who were released on the night of President Trump’s inauguration.
- “President Trump — amazing. Thank God he’s in the White House where he’s at and thank God he got me out … I’m in debt with everybody that was involved in this equation because they got me home. A free American individual, free from the hands of these people that abducted because of my U.S. passport, basically — and I’m just thankful. I got no words to express my gratitude for my liberty, my freedom,” Glezmann said.
