Donald Trump: “If I were president, and I say this, I will end that war in one day. It’ll take 24 hours. I know Zelenskyy well; I know Putin well. I would get that ended in a period…
Interviewer interrupts: “You can broker that deal?”
Donald Trump: “100 per cent. It would be easy; that deal would be easy…. but I would get that deal done within 24 hours that war has to be stopped…— “Trump says he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours if he were president,” 4 May 2023
Trump has been the US president in his second term now for over 9 months, and the fighting is still ongoing between Russia and Ukraine+NATO. Currently however, Russia is reported to have encircled many Ukrainian soldiers, as Trump is demanding Russia agree to a ceasefire — a demand rejected by Vladimir Putin. Trump seeks to elude his previous hyperbolic boast by stating it is “Biden’s war.”
He also throws the United Nations under the bus, ignoring his administration’s blame for the failure to end certain wars. Meanwhile, he is praising himself for ending a brief outbreak of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia.
“But, I mean, the United Nations has such great potential. I wish they could do it. They didn’t get involved with us at all. We just did the deal and reported the deal, and everybody was sort of amazed that we got it done so quickly and so nicely,” said Trump.
Trump with characteristic immodesty states that, for him, stopping wars is “much more serious than a hobby, but it’s something that I’m good at, and it’s something I love to do.”
What is Trump’s secret recipe for stopping wars? With the cessation of fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, Trump reduced his “reciprocal” tariffs for Cambodia and Thailand to 19 per cent — down from threatened rates of 49 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.
What does it mean to “be good” at stopping wars and to fail miserably to live up to his braggadocio to end wars, as exemplified by the Russia special military operation against Ukraine+NATO?
Does Trump also pat himself on his back for the predictably broken ceasefire by Israel against Gaza? Trump’s administration was also involved with thwarting the UN and the International Criminal Court in ending Israel’s committing a genocide.
And what does being good at stopping wars mean when Trump’s government is at the same time starting wars elsewhere? Case in point, the US-backed downfall of the Syrian government to the renamed al Qaeda outfit, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). And the attacks on Yemen and Iran should be kept in mind. Currently, what would be risible if it were not so serious a violation of international law and disregard for human life, the Trump administration has been bombing Venezuelan fishing boats. No presumption of innocence, no attempt to intercept peacefully, and no evidence of drug running as claimed by Trump. These are the actions of a warmonger who campaigned for a Nobel Peace Prize, an ignominious peace award.
Given further background, what credence should one confer to Trump’s boast of being good at stopping wars?