An American teacher who was jailed in Russia for nearly four years returned home to the U.S. on Tuesday after the Trump administration negotiated an exchange.
Marc Fogel, 63, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after Russian authorities found him carrying medical marijuana in an airport outside of Moscow. The White House announced earlier on Tuesday that Fogel was coming home as part of an exchange.
Wearing an American flag around his shoulders, Fogel met President Donald Trump at the White House shortly after landing on American soil.
Initially greeting the president on the south lawn, Fogel can be heard talking to Trump about the promise he made his 95-year-old mother, Malphine. Fogel added it was “very difficult to articulate how proud I am of you, how proud I am of what you’ve done, being back in my country… I love it.“
Fogel held his hand to his heart while Trump appeared to ask about Malphine. Fogel replies “She’s a bit in shock,” and the two appear to share a joke before Fogel shakes Trump’s hand.
“I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now,” an emotional Fogel later told reporters. “I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. President Trump is a hero. These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes.”
Fogel said that “every second, every minute, every day was a challenge” under imprisonment. He recounted spending over 100 days in hospitals and receiving over 400 injections during his time in Russia.
“There were times when it was extremely trying, there were times when I could manage it,” he said. “But I think I need some more time to process it.”
Nonetheless, Fogel said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “very generous and statesmanlike” in granting him a pardon.
Trump said Fogel could be a “big catalyst” in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“I think there’s goodwill in terms of the war,” the president said. “It could be a big, important part of getting the war over with Ukraine.”
During the presidential campaign last year, Trump promised Fogel’s 95-year-old mother that he would free her son, according to a #FreeMarcFogel website maintained by his family.
The Fogel family lamented that the Biden administration “abandoned” the teacher, who was left in Russia as journalist Evan Gershkovich and basketball player Brittney Griner were released from Russian prisons and brought back home to the U.S. last year.
“I had to get him back home because I would’ve had big trouble with his mother,” Trump said.
In a statement to CNN, Fogel’s relatives thanked Trump for his “unwavering” leadership: “This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal.”
Trump told reporters that “somebody else very special” would be coming home to the U.S. on Wednesday, though he did not provide further details.
