President Says U.S. Will Commit $10 Billion to His Board of Peace

Trump just said the United States would pay $10 billion into the Board of Peace, which he created and leads.

He gave no details on where the money would come from or if the administration had even requested it from Congress, which would have to approve the funds.

President Trump used his opening remarks at the Board of Peace meeting to reiterate his call for Iran to make a deal with him on his nuclear program, otherwise “bad things will happen.”

At one point he seemed to tease the possibility of military action: “You’re going to be finding out probably over the next 10 days,” he said. The U.S. military is building up forces in the Middle East for a possible strike.

As he speaks at the start of his Board of Peace event, President Trump is running through the various nations that have sent representatives and praising their leaders — including by declaring his “complete and total endorsement” for Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, who faces a tough re-election bid this spring. Orban, a right-wing nationalist, is a favorite of the American right whom Trump said “does an incredible job” on immigration.

President Trump has opened the Board of Peace event while top members of his government watch from the stage. This Trump-founded and Trump-led body was set up as a kind of rival to the United Nations. “In terms of power and in terms of prestige there’s never been anything close because these are the greatest leaders,” Trump said in his opening remarks.

But America’s NATO allies have refused to join, and Trump acknowledged that some nations were absent. “Some are playing a little cute,” he said.

Nations that have joined include Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar.