President Trump gave new fuel Wednesday to speculation that his Board of Peace could eat into the United Nations’ long-standing ostensible role in mediating world conflicts.
Trump did so by making passing reference to the fact that the board “started” with the Israel-Hamas conflict — implying that its mission may not be confined to the Gaza Strip.
The president made the comment in a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“It’s going to be the most prestigious board ever formed,” Trump said of the organization, of which he will serve as chairman — potentially in perpetuity.
“Some need parliamentary approval, but for the most part everybody wants to be on it,” he said. “I have a little bit of the opposite problem: People want to be on it. We didn’t ask them. They want to get on. But we’ll look at the countries.”
Trump added that “I think it’s the greatest board ever formed” before saying “it started on Gaza.”
Before attending the annual event, Trump told reporters at a press conference that the board “might” replace the UN’s core mission, in addition to its role supervising a fledging “technocratic” interim government in Gaza.
“Well it might. The UN just hasn’t been very helpful,” Trump said. “I’m a big fan of the UN potential, but it has never lived up to its potential. The UN should have settled every one of the wars that I settled.”
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNBC Wednesday that “we have north of 20, maybe 25 world leaders who have already accepted” positions on the board of peace.
A permanent seat on the board comes with a $1 billion requested contribution.
Only some countries have publicly confirmed their participation, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, Egypt, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
