Washington: US President Donald Trump has made another controversial statement, this time claiming no president before him ever ended a single war. He dropped the bombshell during a White House meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on October 17.
He said that people tell him, “‘Sir, if you solve one more, you are going to be known as a peacekeeper.’ So to the best of my knowledge, we have never had a president that solved one war, not one war. (George W) Bush started a war (in Iraq). A lot of them start wars, but they don’t solve the wars. They don’t settle them, and especially when they are not, when they have nothing to do with us.”
Historians heard the words and winced. Trump’s sentences ignored an entire record of American presidents who negotiated end of wars. Some even won Nobel Peace Prizes for doing it.
Those who know the history said mocked the statement, adding he massively exaggerates his ‘achievements’ while ignoring the historical record of other presidents.
The White House stayed firm behind him. Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told PolitiFact that Trump’s “direct involvement in major conflicts, leveraging tools from America’s military might to our superior consumer market, has brought peace to decades-long wars around the world in a fashion unlike any of his predecessors”.
Trump’s words also came with a disclaimer. He said he meant wars “that have nothing to do with us”. He was not counting the World War II or any battle fought by US forces. None of the eight conflicts he claims to have ended directly involved American troops.
The Presidents Who Did End Wars
In 1905, Japan shocked the world by defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Then US President Theodore Roosevelt helped broker peace. The talks took place at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Roosevelt received the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his success.
In 1978, then US President Jimmy Carter brought Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin together at Camp David. Israel and Egypt had fought for 30 years. Carter guided them through days of secret talks.
The Camp David Accords were signed on September 17, 1978. Sadat and Begin later won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Wars Settled Under Other Presidents
Former President Bill Clinton watched over peace talks that ended one of Europe’s bloodiest modern conflicts. On November 21, 1995, leaders of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia agreed to stop fighting. The deal became known as the Dayton Accords.
The talks were led by the than US diplomat Richard Holbrooke and Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Clinton was in the Oval Office when the final signatures were placed.
Clinton’s presidency also saw peace in Northern Ireland. The violence between Catholics and Protestants, known as “the Troubles”, had lasted three decades. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 ended the killings.
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell led the talks. He travelled repeatedly between Washington and Belfast. Clinton approved the process.
Under former President George W. Bush, another long war ended. Sudan’s civil conflict between the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement reached a settlement in 2005. The deal became the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell supervised the talks. The agreement later paved the way for South Sudan’s creation in 2011.
Trump’s Record Of ‘Ending Wars’
Trump often repeats that he has ended “six, seven or eight” wars.
He points to a series of ceasefires and short-term truces. These included pauses in conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan and Armenia and Azerbaijan. None of the deals brought permanent calm. Many leaders involved still dispute Trump’s role.
The United States helped with a temporary peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Violence returned soon after. Hundreds of civilians have died since the June signing.
Trump also brokered an agreement between Cambodia and Thailand. Each side accused the other of breaking it within weeks.
Another standoff continues between Egypt and Ethiopia over a dam on the Nile River. The issue remains unresolved. In the Balkans, a deal between Kosovo and Serbia led to no real shift. No evidence of an impending war was found before the agreement.
The one recent breakthrough came with Israel’s war on Gaza. Trump helped push an agreement to end it. The deal includes several stages. The world still waits to see if the peace will hold.
Trump’s Quest For The Nobel
Trump keeps mentioning the Nobel Peace Prize. He says his record makes him deserving.
“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements,” he told the United Nations on September 23.
The Nobel Committee had other plans. On October 10, it gave the 2025 Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela”.
Trump said, “We have never had a president that solved one war, not one war.”
History says otherwise. The record stands clear, proving his statement to be baseless and false.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
