Associated Press President Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks with reporters in flight on Air Force One after landing at U.S. Air Force Base at RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, Eastern England, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) In January, while still threatening to seize Greenland, President Trump announced the formation of a “Board of Peace,” proclaiming it “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place.” The United Nations Security Council endorsed the board as part of a “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” but the board’s charter claims a far broader mission: securing “peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”
Trump, who named himself the board’s chairman for life, predicted it could become “one of the most consequential bodies ever created,” and might eventually replace the United Nations. Five months later, the board has produced little beyond a charter and a few security personnel.
The gap between rhetoric and reality illustrates a key feature of Trump’s presidency. Although he claimed he would “govern by a simple motto: ‘Promises made, promises kept,'” in his administration, a promise is often the achievement. It grabs headlines, dominates the news cycle, distracts from setbacks elsewhere, and allows Trump to promote himself. By the time it’s clear how little has changed, Trump, the media and most Americans have moved on.
The Board of Peace held its first and, so far, only meeting in February at the renamed “Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.” The board contains a smattering of mostly authoritarian states. America’s closest allies, including most European nations, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea, have taken a pass.
At that inaugural meeting, member states pledged $7 billion for Gaza reconstruction, and Trump promised an additional $10 billion in U.S. funds. To date, only $23 million has materialized, and no major reconstruction or security contracts have been awarded.
The board announced that a 20,000-strong International Stabilization Force would provide the security needed for reconstruction. Five months later, the force consists of a commander and four Moroccan officers. Early support evaporated in the face of concerns over the U.S.-Iran war, rules of engagement, legal authority and financing, as well as Trump’s insistence that no American troops would enter Gaza.
Gaza remains a shattered enclave. Reconstruction cannot begin because Hamas refuses to disarm until Israel withdraws, and Israel refuses to withdraw until Hamas disarms. The administration’s vision for transforming “this beautiful piece of property” into shiny office towers, high-tech industries and waterfront tourist resorts looks ever more ludicrous.
Not surprisingly, Trump has said little about the Board of Peace since declaring the war “over” in February. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that “no one’s going to invest money in Gaza until Hamas is demilitarized because they know there’s going to be another war.”
To be sure, solving Gaza’s problems is a herculean task. But that is the point. By presenting the Board of Peace as the solution, Trump sidelined the United Nations, confused allies and created false expectations, making much harder the work that underpins genuine rebuilding initiatives.
And the board is emblematic of Trump’s M.O.: announce sweeping new initiatives, often outside established channels, promise extraordinary results, and then shift attention before those initiatives can be measured against reality.
In his first term, Trump promised to repeal and replace Obamacare. His much ballyhooed “Infrastructure Week” initiatives were never presented, let alone implemented.
While campaigning in 2023, Trump proposed creating 10 deregulated “Freedom Cities,” where businesses could flourish and residents could realize the “American Dream.” Three years later, no site has been selected, no legislation has been enacted, and Trump no longer mentions the idea.
Trump declared he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine 24 hours after he was sworn in for a second term. He indicated he would reduce inflation on “Day One,” and “substantially replace” the income tax with tariff revenue.
Days after returning to office, Trump announced a “Golden Dome” missile defense system that would shield the entire country by the end of his term. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost at $1.2 trillion (other estimates put it much higher) and warned that “the system could be overwhelmed by a full-scale attack.” Despite some planning and investment, the project remains mostly theoretical.
In February 2025, Trump announced that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had identified tens of billions in “waste, fraud and abuse.” The final amount “could be close to a trillion dollars,” he said, and taxpayers might receive 20 percent of the savings. DOGE’s cuts to the federal workforce were deep, chaotic and damaging, and may cost millions of lives. Yet they “saved” only a tiny fraction of the amount Trump touted. The White House no longer mentions DOGE, or a tax rebate.
Trump also proposed a $1 million “Gold Card” visa program that could generate $5 trillion in fees. Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnick claimed 250,000 people had lined up to apply. As of May, 165 people had paid the processing fee; only one visa had been granted. Administration officials now seldom refer to the plan.
The Board of Peace, then, is best understood as a paradigmatic example of a grandiose, self-serving, bait-and-switch public relations strategy that wastes time, energy and money, leaves urgent domestic problems unaddressed, and undermines America’s credibility abroad.
Let the buyer beware.
David Wippman is emeritus president of Hamilton College. Glenn C. Altschuler is The Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.
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