Topline
President Donald Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at Davos Thursday, alongside a group of international leaders—including close allies Javier Milei of Argentina and Viktor Orbán of Hungary—and suggested his group would “work with” the United Nations to end conflicts as he once again claimed credit for ending eight wars.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signing founding charter at the “Board of Peace” meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
In a speech announcing the group’s launch, Trump claimed everyone wanted to join his board of peace, as a group of around 20 international leaders sat on stage, though none represented major European allies.
Although Trump previously said his group could “replace” the United Nations, in his speech, the president said it will work with the UN and other nations.
Trump said he thought there was “tremendous potential” in the UN and “the combination of the Board of Peace…with the United Nations can be something very, very unique for the world.
Talking about the Middle East, Trump claimed only “little fires” were left in terms of ending the war in Gaza and claimed that Iran wants to talk to him and he will talk.
“Just one year ago the world was actually on fire, a lot of people didn’t know it,” Trump said as he took several shots at his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.
After Trump’s speech, the other leaders on stage joined him to sign the board’s charter document.
Crucial Quote
Although the Board of Peace was initially pitched as a group to address the war in Gaza, the Trump administration has grown its scope to cover all global conflicts. Trump alluded to this in his speech, saying: “I think we can spread out to other things as as we succeed with Gaza, we’re going to be very successful in Gaza…We can do numerous other things. Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do.”
What We Don’t Know
Although Trump and the group of leader on stage signed the board’s charter, its final draft has not yet been released publicly. There’s also no clear list of members who have agreed to join this group. Leaders from nearly 20 countries were on stage alongside Trump including, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto. Also on stage were Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
What To Watch For?
While Trump’s speech outlined the global ambitions of his Board of Peace, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the first focus will be on Gaza. Rubio began by lavishing praise on Trump but said the board’s job “first and foremost” is to ensure “this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring.” He added: “If we put the time and the effort that it requires – that I know this board will do – but I also think it [Gaza} will serve as an example of what’s possible in other parts of the world without losing focus on what’s before us now”
Surprising Fact
The Board of Peace’s logo bears some resemblance to the United Nations logo, as both include a globe surrounded by olive branches on both sides. However a key difference is that the Board of Peace’s globe is centered around the United States with only North America and parts of South America visible, while the UN globe is centered on the North Pole and show’s the whole world. The board’s logo also eschews’ the UN’s white and light blue for a gold colored globe.
The Board of Peace’s logo appears to bear some strong resemblance to the UN logo.
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Tangent
The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, delivered a presentation on stage and talked about the potential reconstruction of Gaza if the conflict ends. Kushner’s presentation included slides featuring renderings of what he called “New Gaza,” a city filled with skyscrapers along the coastline. Kushner said: “New Gaza, it could be a hope, it could be a destination…We’ve made several impossible things happen just in Gaza today, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to make even more impossible things happen.” It is unclear if this rebuilding plan has been endorsed by any other parties, including the Palestinian people living in Gaza. Kushner said the U.S. will enforce the demilitarization of Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement and said: “If Hamas does not demilitarize, that will be what holds back Gaza and the people of Gaza from achieving their aspiration.”
