President Trump on Thursday announced that the United States will contribute $10 billion to his “Board of Peace,” the organization formally established last month to oversee his Gaza peace plan. Trump is named in the group’s charter as its chairman for life, with exclusive authority to nominate his successor in the role.
“I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace,” Trump said at Thursday’s inaugural meeting of the board at the recently rechristened Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Trump did not specify where the money would come from or whether congressional lawmakers who would need to approve the funding have indicated they would support the pledge. But the president suggested that $10 billion would be a relative bargain. “We've had great support for that number,” he said. “That number is a very small number. When you look at that compared to the cost of war, that's two weeks of fighting, it's a very small number.”
The financial pledge is notable because the Trump administration has severely cut back on foreign aid and withdrawn from other international organizations. Some U.S. allies have declined to join Trump’s board out of concern that it might be used to marginalize the United Nations. The reported structure of the board, in which countries that pay $1 billion can get a permanent seat, has also raised concerns that authoritarian regimes might be able to buy influence.
At Thursday’s Board of Peace meeting, Trump also complained that he “got screwed by Norway” in his quest for a Nobel Peace prize and warned that time is running out for Iran to agree to end its nuclear program or “bad things will happen.” The U.S. has built up its military presence in the Middle East as Trump pushes for a deal with Iran and weighs another military strike against it. "Maybe we're going to make a deal," he said Thursday. "You're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days."