The man who modestly “settled eight wars,” “completely and totally obliterated” the Iranian nuclear threat, and brought peace to the Middle East “for the first time in 3,000 years” – all that in less than a year – and then said, “I never get credit, but that’s OK,” now wants to share his gifts with the rest of the world.
US President Donald J. Trump convened the first meeting of his Board of Peace at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace, calling it “the most prestigious board of leaders ever assembled, at any time.” Its members, who must ante up $1 billion each for a permanent seat at his table and a complementary red MAGA cap, “are the greatest world leaders.” In Trumpworld, everything’s for sale, even international diplomacy.
Many countries turned down the generous offer, but only one was apparently disinvited – Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney doesn’t appreciate the US president’s desire to annex his country as the 51st state. In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Carney said Canada feels the United States under Trump is “no longer a reliable partner.”
The American leader is also punishing Canada by threatening to block the opening of the Canadian-financed Gordie Howe International Bridge, set to connect Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. That may be more than just a grudge since the billionaire owner of the competing Ambassador Bridge donated $1 million to a pro-Trump super PAC shortly before Trump’s threats.
One must wonder how Trump can be a global peacemaker when he can’t even get along with our northern neighbor, widely known as the world’s nicest country.
A sycophantic meeting
Others rejected Trump’s invitation, including Slovenia – Melania Trump’s birthplace – and Norway, which the president resents because it hasn’t given him the Nobel Peace Prize (which it doesn’t control anyway).
Most countries, notably Western European democracies, also turned down invitations because they felt that the board’s mandate is too broad, that it risks undermining the existing international order, and that it is too undemocratic. Russia and China also said no. So did the Vatican, Japan, and Brazil.
The first meeting had all the sycophancy of a North Korean Workers’ Party Politburo meeting. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the president of Kazakhstan, proposed that the board create “a special President Trump award” to recognize its namesake’s “outstanding peace-building efforts and achievements.”
The board was ostensibly established to lead the reconstruction of Gaza, but its charter says nothing about that, instead proclaiming a mandate for dealing with global conflicts. Trump could use the board as an end run around the existing international order and to assert his claim of absolute global leadership. Or for retribution against his foes.
Trump, who still smarts from the laughing response to his braggadocio before the UN General Assembly in 2018, was asked whether he intended for his new group to replace the UN. “It might,” he responded. The international body “has never lived up to its potential,” he said. “The UN should have settled every one of the wars that I settled.” He has already cut US funding and membership for dozens of UN agencies.
Israel's seat on the board
Israel signed up, though it is unclear whether it is ready to buy a billion-dollar seat. The Palestinian Authority, which would seem to have the greatest interest, was not invited. Trump, however, did include two of Hamas’s most important allies, Turkey and Qatar, over Israel’s objections. Most members are smaller countries that see membership as a way to curry favor with the administration, not out of any commitment to rebuilding Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not share Trump’s enthusiasm for rebuilding Gaza. His government appears content to occupy its half of the strip indefinitely and has given Hamas 60 days to disarm, or the war may resume.
The US president has anointed himself chairman for life with veto power over decisions, the agenda, invitations, membership, the logo, and his own successor – pretty much the way he sees the presidency.
Its legal status is unclear. The UN Security Council endorsed the board’s creation to oversee Gaza recovery, but it has not been authorized by Congress. Trump pledged $10 billion but did not say where that would come from; he may have trouble getting it from Capitol Hill, particularly in this midterm election year. He may be able to prevent the GOP-controlled Congress from looking into the board, but that could change after November.
'The Bored of Peace'
It has been dubbed the Bored of Peace because of Trump’s well-known short attention span (except for revenge and self-enrichment) and tendency to flit from one project to the next, often in search of diversions from the problem du jour.
Don’t be surprised if he renames his group for himself – United Trump Nations? – as another one of his ego projects, like the ballroom, the arch, assorted buildings, institutions, ships, fighter jets, federal agencies, government programs, bridges, airports, and train stations.
Trump convened the board’s inaugural meeting in Washington last week, complete with a golden gavel – in case you haven’t noticed, he’s very fond of gold, sort of a latter-day Auric Goldfinger – and a video of his real estate developer’s fantasy Gaza Riviera of beaches, hotels, golf clubs, and high-rise condos. Gaza under years of Hamas rule did have shopping malls, nice hotels, and high rises, but that didn’t prevent October 7.
Among the top officials of the board are two of Trump’s fellow wealthy New York real estate developers: his longtime friend and golf partner, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Both are presidential envoys who are also doing private development business throughout the Middle East. Any possible conflicts of interest are unlikely to trouble Trump or his friends on the Hill, but they could be a problem for those putting up billions in seed money.
Trump faces a dilemma. How can he be a global peacemaker and Nobel laureate while preparing to launch a war against Iran while waging another war against immigrants and his political opposition at home? But this is a president and an administration untroubled by radical inconsistency. Why worry when there are billions of dollars to be made?
The writer is a Washington-based journalist, consultant, lobbyist, and a former legislative director at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.