The US president said he was unsure that resolving the war in Gaza would be enough to earn him a ticket
US President Donald Trump has suggested that it is unlikely he will end up in heaven despite his efforts to mediate peace between Israel and Hamas.
During Trump’s flight aboard Air Force One to Israel on Sunday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the president whether ending the war in Gaza would help him get into heaven.
“I’m being a little cute,” Trump said, smiling and chuckling. “I don’t think there’s anything going to get me in heaven. I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven, but I’ve made life a lot better for a lot of people,” he added.
Trump then boasted about his negotiating skills, claiming that the conflict between Israel and Hamas would be “the eighth war that I’ve solved.”
On Monday, Hamas freed the 20 remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli army earlier halted offensive operations and withdrew from parts of the Gaza Strip.
Later that day, Trump and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye signed a declaration in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, endorsing the ceasefire and a path toward “comprehensive and durable peace arrangements.”
Trump’s 20-point peace plan calls for Gaza to become a “deradicalized terror-free zone.” Although Hamas agreed to the prisoner swap outlined in the plan, it refused to disarm or hand over power in the Palestinian enclave. Israel has so far not committed to a full withdrawal from the strip.
Trump was raised Presbyterian and has had a particularly strong base of support among Evangelical Christians throughout his political career.
