Trump Administration Reviews 55 Million US Visa Holders
President Donald Trump has offered a personal motive behind his push for international peace deals during his second term -the pursuit of eternal salvation.
In a phone interview with Fox & Friends on Tuesday, August 19, Trump explained his desire to end the war in Ukraine, casting himself as a mediator between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty – I want to try to get to heaven if possible,” Trump said.
He continued, “I’m hearing that I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole,” drawing laughter from the Fox News hosts. “But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”
Later in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that Trump’s remarks were not intended as humor.
“I think the president was serious,” Leavitt said during her briefing. “I think the president wants to get to heaven – as I hope we all do in this room as well.”
Since returning to office, Trump has emphasized his role as a global peace negotiator. He told Zelenskyy during their meeting on Monday, August 18, that he was responsible for “six deals” aimed at resolving conflicts around the world this year.
Trump’s religious rhetoric has also become more pronounced since surviving an assassination attempt last year. At his January inauguration, he declared he had been “saved by God to make America great again.”
The president has drawn consistent support from the religious right and has leaned more heavily into public displays of faith in his second term. He appointed televangelist Paula White as his official spiritual adviser, who has led prayer gatherings at the White House where attendees have placed their hands on him.
In his pursuit of international mediation, Trump and his administration have claimed involvement in settling disputes between Israel and Iran; the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Rwanda; Cambodia and Thailand; India and Pakistan; Serbia and Kosovo; and Egypt and Ethiopia.
However, The Guardian noted that some of these assertions were “embellished” and contradicted by ongoing violence, particularly in DR Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels missed a peace deadline in Doha on Tuesday.
Also Read: Why Budapest Is Emerging As The Surprising Choice For A Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy Meeting
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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