The US president says he seeks to leave a legacy as a “peacemaker,” rather than a “conqueror”
US President Donald Trump has said he wants to be remembered by history as a “peacemaker,” and reiterated his commitment to ending military conflicts, particularly the Ukraine crisis.
He made the remarks to a large crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, which had gathered to commemorate his first month in office. Trump has repeatedly expressed his intent to swiftly end the Ukraine conflict, arguing that he has “the power to end this war” in order “to save lives.”
“It’s my hope that my greatest legacy will be as a peacemaker, not a conqueror, I don’t want to be a conqueror,” the US president told the gathering.
The statement echoed his inaugural speech, when Trump said he wanted to be remembered as a “peacemaker and unifier,” adding that a nation’s strength should be measured by the wars it ends or prevents rather than those it wins.
The remark was an apparent reference to his predecessor Joe Biden, who spent billions to arm Kiev and massively ramped up weapons supplies to Ukraine in the final weeks of his tenure.
Trump has repeatedly blamed Biden for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, claiming that the war would never have erupted if he had remained in office. According to Trump, his predecessor’s statements about Kiev potentially joining NATO were a critical provocation that had directly contributed to the conflict.
Speaking at CPAC, Trump also said he believed “we are pretty close” to a deal on Ukraine. The remarks come amid an intensified US-Russia dialogue focused on peace efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Also on Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration is focused on continuing talks with both sides and is optimistic that a peace deal could be reached “this week.”
The development follows high-level talks between US and Russian diplomats that took place in Saudi Arabia last week. The meeting, which marked the first direct attempt by the two parties to normalize relations after nearly three years of animosity under the Biden administration, focused on restoring bilateral ties and the settlement of the Ukraine conflict. The negotiations notably excluded Ukrainian and EU representatives.
Both Moscow and Washington have praised the talks in Riyadh, an initiative of the Russian and US presidents, as highly productive.
