Finnish president boosts ties with Trump in surprise Florida visit

30/3/2025 12:00

Finnish President Alexander Stubb made a surprise trip on Saturday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, where the two leaders discussed strengthening their countries' bilateral partnership and played a round of golf.



Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, "President Stubb and I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Finland, and that includes the purchase and development of a large number of badly needed Icebreakers for the U.S., delivering Peace and International Security for our Countries, and the World."



The two presidents met for breakfast, played golf and had lunch together. They also discussed foreign policy issues, including Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Stubb in Helsinki last week.



The Finnish president's office said in a statement that Stubb's unannounced visit with Trump was informal. Trump arrived at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday afternoon, before heading to the golf club he owns in West Palm Beach on Saturday morning for a golf tournament.



Senator Lindsey Graham joined Trump's team, he said in a post on X, in which he also praised the golfing skills of Stubb, who played golf as an undergraduate at Furman University in Graham's home state of South Carolina.