Could Trump be the unlikely mastermind of world peace?

The Gaza ceasefire deal is his first win for the 'peace through strength' doctrine

- Sarah Baxter

Let’s Make America Great Again was Ronald Reagan’s slogan before it was made “great” again by Donald Trump. The US president-elect now wants to take a leaf out of Harry Truman’s book.

In 1947, the post-war Democrat gave his name to the Truman doctrine — a commitment to supporting democracies around the world, which wasn’t always as idealistic as it sounded.

Trump is hellbent on asserting the Trump doctrine, whereby might is right and slogans like Maga and America First represent the exercise of raw power. Stand by for “shock and awe” on day one of his presidency on the economy and the border. But it is in foreign policy that Trump is already having an outsize impact. He believes in “peace through strength”. From Greenland to Gaza, the evidence suggests Trump’s bullying pressure campaign is working. This is a gut punch to those who believe that polite niceties of the international rules-based order are the surest way to keep the peace. But there could be an unexpected positive. When Trump said, “Everybody wants to be my friend” with respect to the tech titans, the same applies to foreign powers. You might not like him, but it would be pretty amazing if the wars did stop on reasonable terms.

On Truth Social this week, Trump reposted an AI-generated meme with the slogan, “Trump was right” on the blazing Los Angeles hillside in place of the Hollywood sign. According to Anne Applebaum, the Pulitzer-prize-winning commentator, the phrase “Mussolini is always right” was a hallmark of Italian fascism. So, yes, it’s worrying. But there is no denying that the Trump doctrine is gaining strength.

Kudos in the Middle East