The title of a DW program, DW is a German public television network, caught my eye. The title compared the desires for peace by both President Trump and Pope Leo XIV (click here for the program). There is no doubt in my mind that both Trump and Pope Leo XIV want peace. But our comparison should not end there. The next comparison we should make is means used by each person to achieve peace.
We can confidently claim that President Trump wants peace. How do I know that? It is because Trump is an authoritarian leader and all such leaders want peace. That is true of even leaders like Vlad Putin and Netanyahu. But there we should not shy away from examining their employed means to achieve peace.
Authoritarian leaders want to achieve peace through dominating those on the other side. Examples here include Putin's suppression of dissent by Russian citizens, his attempts to disappear opponents, and his invasion of Ukraine. For Netanyahu, his treatment of Palestinians provides his means to achieving peace. Yes, the October 7th attacks were horrible atrocities for which those involved must face severe consequences. But Hamas's October 7th attacks were not a first strike; those attacks were one of the many responses that Palestinian terrorists have made to Israel's brutal Occupation. Currently, the Occupation is being used as a cover for Israel's attempts to annex more and more land from the Palestinians.
And so now we come to Trump whose motto seems to be strike first and strike a deal later. He has attacked various nations, including important allies, with tariffs. He has written Executive Orders that target law firms that have represented the Democrats. He has been withholding funding from Universities including from their medical research. And, most recently. He is involved in tag-team wrestling attacks on Iran with Israel.
To attempt to negotiate first with another party while treating them as an equal, seems to be highly recommended by both Pope Leo XIV and his immediate predecessor. In other words, they strongly prefer showing respect to the other party and seeking to be reconciled to using coercion. Another way to put it is that while Leo XIV urges mutual cooperation, Trump's first move is to attack so that he can force compliance by the other party.
When we look at Trump's efforts to achieve peace in different parts of the world, including the US, it is clear that he favors the threat or use of force. How did he want peace to be achieved between Russia and Ukraine? He initially wanted Zelensky to accept a peace plan that called concessions to be made only by Ukraine. And so if Zelensky didn't acquiesce to Russia's demands, then the war would continue and Zelensky would be risking WW III. And, btw, the war is going the direction that this blog said it would; the war will eventually be won by Russia.
And note the disparity in time between Trump using tariffs as sanctions against America's former allies, such as those in NATO, and his neglect to use of tariffs against Russia for invading Ukraine. Or look at how Trump proposed that Iran was to stop Israeli aggression with its Pearl Harbor surprise attacks on Iran. He demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender to Israel's violence. Or look at his proposal for peace in Gaza, and his silence on what is happening in the West Bank. He proposed a total ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
Or look at how he reacted to the small protests against ICE that were occurring in LA. He sent in the National Guard and the Marines when their presence was totally uncalled for and unnecessary.
The self-proclaimed premiere dealmaker of the world shoots first, with some kind of attack, and asks for a deal second. His use of tariffs was intended to create a shock effect in hopes that his targets would grovel for new trade agreements in response.
Now we need to look at how the new Pope looks at achieving peace. He is following in the footsteps of his predecessor. And his predecessor, Pope Francis, denounced the use of war. The new and, possibly, improved Pope calls for peace to be achieved through mutual respect for the dignity of all sides.
Now some might regard Pope Leo's call for peace through mutual respect as proof that he is woke. And those who interpret the new Pope that way would be partially right. But where the new Pope is not woke doesn't address the question being asked by this article.
And so no, the peace that Trump wants to achieve is not the same kind of peace that Pope Leo XIV wants to make. For employing mutual respect in contrast to attempting to dominate have nothing in common neither in terms of the means of achieving peace nor the kind of peace that is reached.
Historically, there have been times when dominating through force was necessary to achieve a just peace. WW II was an example of that when the Axis powers attempted to dominate the world. Overwhelming force was needed to arrest those efforts and reboot international relations. But in a nuclear age, we need to ask whether such efforts to dominate are not just counterproductive to achieving a just and long-lasting peace, but a serious threat to the whole world.
That being said, we must conclude that Trump and the Pope do not share the same desire for peace. And it is important to make that distinction. While the former is the epitome of the lack of self-restraint, the latter is the epitome of showing self-restraint. And this is an an important point to make lest we, in a state of confusion, conflate the desires for peace held by Trump and the Pope. Though both want peace, they don't want the same kind of peace.
