Trump says Ukraine peace deal would help him ‘get to heaven’

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said Aug 19 that a Ukraine peace deal could boost his chances of getting to heaven – joking that his odds of making it through the pearly gates are currently low.

The 79-year-old US President has previously said he wants to end Russia’s war in Ukraine as part of his bid to

win the Nobel Peace Prize.

But a day after

hosting the leaders of Ukraine and several European nations

at the White House, Mr Trump said his motivations were not all earthly.

“I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” Mr Trump told the Fox News morning show, Fox & Friends.

“I hear I’m not doing well – I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole! But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”

By traditional yardsticks, the three-times-married, twice-impeached Mr Trump is no saint.

The billionaire Republican has been embroiled in a number of scandals over the years and is the first president to have a criminal conviction, in his case,

a hush money case involving payouts to a porn star.

But Mr Trump has taken on an increasingly religious tone since

surviving an assassination attempt

in 2024. He said at his inauguration in January that he had been “saved by God to make America great again”.

Boasting strong support from America’s religious right, Mr Trump has embraced the trappings of faith far more strongly in his second term in the White House.

He has notably appointed an official spiritual adviser, Ms Paula White, who has led a number of prayer gatherings that have seen attendees lay their hands on Mr Trump at White House events.

Mr Trump’s press secretary, Ms Karoline Leavitt, said on Aug 19 she believed “the President was serious” about his Ukraine comments.

“I think the President wants to get to heaven, as I hope we all do in this room,” the 27-year-old press secretary – who herself holds prayer sessions before her briefings – told reporters. AFP