WASHINGTON – Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has linked his efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war to a personal and spiritual mission. On Tuesday, he said that reaching a peace deal could help him get to heaven. “I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” Trump stated on the morning show “Fox & Friends.”
The president, who has long said he wants to earn the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, made a joke about himself in his statements. “I hear I’m not doing well; I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole!” But this will be one of the reasons I can get to heaven.
The day before, Trump had Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House for a summit to move peace talks forward. Trump has talked about his faith and where he will go after he dies before. After surviving an assassination attempt last year, he has become more openly religious. At his inauguration in January, he famously said that he had been “saved by God to make America great again.”
The president enjoys a lot of support from the religious right in the U.S., and during his second term, he has become more open about his faith in public. He has chosen Paula White to be his official spiritual adviser, and he has gone to a number of prayer meetings at the White House.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Trump’s comments at a press briefing. She claimed she thought the president was “serious,” and then she continued, “I think the president wants to go to heaven, as I hope we all do in this room.” The 27-year-old press secretary, who is known to conduct prayer sessions before her briefings, backed up the administration’s stance that resolving the crisis in Ukraine is not simply a diplomatic or political goal, but also a moral and spiritual one.
People have talked about the president’s personal life a lot. He has been married many times, been impeached twice, and most recently was found guilty of a crime in a hush money case. But his most recent words make it seem like he’s more interested in his legacy than in politics, and that it goes beyond politics and into a more personal and spiritual sphere.