Finnish President Alexander Stubb made a previously unannounced, unofficial visit to Florida on Saturday, spending about seven hours with US President Donald Trump.
"The presidents met over breakfast, played a round of golf and had lunch together," Stubb's office said in a press release late Saturday Finnish time.
During the visit, the presidents discussed bilateral relations as well as "current foreign and security policy issues including Ukraine," according to the handout. Last week, Stubb hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Helsinki.
"President Stubb and I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the United States and Finland," Trump said after the meeting on his Truth Social platform.
"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," he went on to say.
Finland is the world's largest producer of icebreakers, having designed 80 percent of all icebreakers in use around the globe.
If confirmed, a major order for the big ships would be a crucial shot in the arm for Finnish heavy industry, which has struggled to fill its order books.
In January, Trump announced that the US plans to order about 40 large icebreakers to supplement its current fleet.
Earlier this month, Canada ordered an icebreaker to be built in Helsinki with a price tag of around 2 billion euros.
Finland has tightened defence and trade ties with the US since joining Nato in 2023. The previous year, it agreed to buy 64 US-made F-35A fighter jets in a deal worth some 8.4 billion euros. Last week, the Finnish Air Force Commander dismissed concerns over the acquisition related to Washington's rapprochement with Moscow.
Criticism on social media
"The golf trip to Florida likely gave Stubb more one-on-one time with Trump than a formal meeting at the White House would have provided," noted Yle foreign correspondent Simo Ortamo.
"Good personal relations with the leadership of an unpredictable superpower have been a tried and tested tool in Finnish foreign policy for decades. President Urho Kekkonen frequently went on hunting trips with Soviet leaders. Critics saw this part of Finlandisation, and Stubb has already received such criticism about his trip on social media," Ortamo commented in a news analysis piece.
"It is good news for Finnish exports and the economy if Trump now has a positive attitude towards icebreaker purchases from Finland. However, there is still a long way to go before the signatures are on paper," he pointed out.
Trump puts Stubb on the phone during NBC interview
Trump held a phone interview with NBC News during Stubb's visit, "at one point putting Alexander Stubb...on the phone as well," the network reported.
The US president also praised Stubb's golf skills. Stubb is a former member of the Finnish national golf team who competed in the European Championships.
"He is a very good player, and we won the Men’s Member-Guest Golf Tournament at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach County, with the Legendary Gary Player, Senator Lindsey Graham, and former Congressman and highly successful Television Host, Trey Gowdy," Trump posted.
Graham represents South Carolina, where Stubb attended Furman University on a golf scholarship. Before that, he spent a year as an exchange student in Daytona Beach, Florida, earning a high school diploma there in 1986.
In a post on X, Republican Senator Graham wrote about the tournament, saying that "Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who played golf at Furman University, was amazing".
The South African-born Player is one of the most successful golfers of all time, while Gowdy is a former Republican congressman from South Carolina, now a Fox News host.
Stubb is the first Nordic head of state or government to meet with Trump since his second term began about two months ago. The two met previously at the Élysée Palace in Paris in December. Stubb took office just over a year ago.
Two in three Finns worried about security in Trump era
Meanwhile, two-thirds of people in Finland are concerned about security in the second Trump era. That's according to a survey published by the Uutissuomalainen newspaper group on Saturday.
Pollster Tietoykkönen asked respondents how concerned they were about the security of Europe and Finland in a situation where the US aims to reduce its participation in the defence of Europe. Women were more likely to express concern than men, the survey found.
Stubb continues his foreign tour in London on Monday. He is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as part of a working visit.
