Donald Trump: Harbinger of Global Peace?
US President Donald Trump’s peace-making has not had the impact on geopolitical conflicts that he has claimed they would.
During Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign in 2024, Trump frequently positioned himself as an architect of global peace for his first presidency between 2017 and 2021. He asserted that the subsequent Biden administration had presided over an escalation of international conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war. Yet, an examination of the geopolitical landscape since Trump became US president for a second time in 2025, reveals a more complex picture. Conflicts, such as that between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Palestine, have continued. Moreover, the emergence of a significant flashpoint between India and Pakistan has underscored the unpredictability of international relations irrespective of a change in US leadership.
Russia and Ukraine
During his presidential campaign in 2024, Donald Trump discussed the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. One of his most oft-repeated pledges was that, upon assuming office, he would bring an end to the war within ‘24 hours’ (Kinnard, 2025). According to a CNN report, he stated this not once, but 53 times (Anand, 2025). However, despite this, Trump refused to provide details on how he intended to achieve such a resolution instead asserting that disclosing such details would undermine the effectiveness of his strategy which he claimed relied, in part, on the element of surprise (Kinnard, 2025). Moreover, Trump alluded to his personal relationships with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (TVP World, 2025) saying that both leaders ‘respected’ him in a way they did not respect his predecessor, Joe Biden, and suggested that this mutual respect would enable him to bring both parties to the negotiating table.
However, peace has still to be reached in the conflict since Trump came into office, and on this, Trump said to Times Magazine that he had only said he could resolve the conflict in one day ‘as an exaggeration’ (Anand, 2025). The Trump administration’s proposals for a ceasefire between both sides have produced mixed results. While Ukraine has demonstrated a willingness to consider the proposals, Russia has more often than not rejected the proposals outright, thereby complicating the path to peace to which Trump has often resorted to social media to express his frustration (Stanley-Smith, 2025). Recognising the improbability of a rapid resolution as first stated, the Trump administration has begun to adopt a more pragmatic approach. Rather than insisting on an immediate end to hostilities, recent discussions have shifted toward more feasible timelines, such as resolving the war within 100 days. This recalibration, however, has undermined the credibility of Trump’s initial promise to bring an end to the conflict in a day. The gap between the Trump administration’s rhetoric and action highlights his lack of effectiveness in addressing the conflict while also raising concerns about the efficacy of US leadership in high-stakes geopolitical negotiations in the world today.
Israel and Palestine
In 2024, during his presidential campaign, Trump also vowed to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. Yet, just two months into his second presidency, the fragile ceasefire brokered by the Biden administration collapsed. Though Trump initially took credit for negotiating the ceasefire, his subsequent support for Israeli military action contradicted this. In addition, the Trump administration’s plan for a path to peace also proved controversial for including conditional Palestinian statehood and the cessation of legal actions against Israel (Harb, 2025). The plan also placed the Palestinian capital outside Jerusalem and proposed a fragmented state structure surrounded by increased Israeli territory. Marketed as the ‘ultimate deal’, the plan was largely dismissed by Palestinian leaders as heavily in Israel’s favour. But Trump, known for his strong pro-Israel stance, appeared more concerned with the optics. His joint appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2025 included a provocative statement which outlined proposals for US control over Gaza and its transformation into a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ which was widely criticised by commentators for its neocolonial implications. Despite Trump’s claim to being a peacemaker in the Middle East, the escalation of violence in Gaza, and the mounting civilian death toll suggests otherwise.
India and Pakistan
Military conflict erupted between India and Pakistan in May 2025 but came to an end after a week, following the diplomacy of a number of countries, including the US. In a post on his social media platform, Donald Trump announced: ‘After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire.’ Trump has consistently asserted that his intervention was instrumental in deescalating tensions and even suggested that his efforts may have prevented a potential nuclear confrontation. (Cleary, 2025). However, these claims have been denied by Indian officials. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said that the ceasefire resulted from India’s independent military and diplomatic initiatives stressing that no foreign mediation – including from the United States – played a role. A spokesperson from India’s Ministry of External Affairs said: ‘We have a longstanding national position that any issues related to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir must be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. There has been no change to the stated policy.’ (Parashar, 2025).
These three key case studies – the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the India-Pakistan standoff – demonstrate that US President Donald Trump’s peace-making has largely not had the impact on geopolitical conflicts that he has claimed. Instead, his foreign policy narrative has been revealed to be claiming personal credit for international developments, even when such claims are disputed by the parties involved. While Donald Trump positioned himself as a global peacemaker during his US presidential campaign in 2024, his second presidency so far suggests a significant gap between his rhetoric and the realities of his record which show his limited impact on the international conflicts he claims to be able to resolve.
Bibliography
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Stanley-Smith, J. (2025). Frustrated Trump slams Putin, Ukraine as peace talk hopes falter. [Online] POLITICO. Available at: https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-ukraine-peace-talks-russia-ceasefire/.
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