Brian Kilmeade Rips Steve Witkoff's 'Humanitarian' Praise of Vladimir Putin

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday called Steve Witkoff's praise of Vladimir Putin "embarrassing." Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy, had thanked the Russian president for freeing American teacher Stephen Hubbard and called him "a humanitarian."

Kilmeade said on The Brian Kilmeade Show that the line "just makes you look naive."

"I mean, the Russians must be laughing their heads off. Are you kidding? I cannot believe this is happening," Kilmeade said.

What Steve Witkoff Told Vladimir Putin

Kilmeade played a clip of Witkoff telling Putin that "a whole nation sends their thanks" for Hubbard's release. Witkoff then told Putin that Putin had spoken often of Trump being a humanitarian, and that Putin was one too. Several Republican lawmakers joined the criticism. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis called it "an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say." Iowa Senator Joni Ernst said Putin "is certainly no humanitarian."

Trump was asked about the remark. "Well, I guess you have to say for that particular purpose," he told reporters, according to CBS News, "for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out. But I wouldn't say anything one way or the other."

Kilmeade listed what Russia did to Hubbard. "They pretended he was an operative when he's a teacher," he said. He added that Putin "kills his opponents. He arrests journalists, tries to poison people wherever they are around the world."

The host stopped short of a full break with the White House. "Now, if it's a means to an end to end a war in a way that's going to give Ukraine some sanctity and some security, I'd be willing to suck that up. But I don't know how that helps," he said.

Russia's Record With Detained Americans

Hubbard is a 74-year-old retired English teacher from Michigan. NBC News reports he had lived in Izyum, in eastern Ukraine, since 2014, and Russian forces seized him there in April 2022. A closed Moscow trial in 2024 sentenced him to nearly seven years for allegedly fighting as a mercenary, a charge his family rejects. Kilmeade's on-air account differed from NBC's: he said Hubbard taught in Japan for 25 years and went to Ukraine for two months. Ukrainian soldier Ihor Shyshko, who was held with him, described beatings and other torture and said Hubbard was beaten "like the rest of us," the same as Ukrainian prisoners.

His case is one of several that Moscow has used as leverage:

The U.S. and its allies sent eight Russians home in the 2024 swap, among them the convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov. Trump said no swap was involved. "There was no 'swap' necessary for this release," he wrote, according to CBS News. CBS News also reports that Trump later linked the release to his decision to waive sanctions, saying, "If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back."

The Diesel Deal Question

Kilmeade told his listeners the release "is related perhaps to the diesel deal. But the president says unrelated." He described the deal, if it goes through, as letting the U.S. buy Russian diesel. Trump's own remarks, as CBS News reports them, tie the release to the sanctions waiver.

Rick Scott Calls Vladimir Putin 'a Thug'

In the same hour, Kilmeade interviewed Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott, who sits on the Armed Services Committee. "I think Steve Witkoff called him a humanitarian today. I was like, what are you talking about? Humanitarian?" Kilmeade said, and he asked Scott whether he disagreed with Trump.

Scott praised the effort but was blunt about Putin. "I mean, look, I'm glad the president's trying. I appreciate the president's trying. But I mean, Putin's a thug. So we shouldn't be doing business with thugs," he said.

What Comes Next

Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told Kilmeade that the administration is aiming for an announcement before Trump hosts the G20 at Doral in mid-December. Weiss argued that a proposal two Republican senators brought to Kyiv, which he said Zelenskyy accepted last Friday, offers a way out.