The President of the United States, Donald Trump, occupies the most powerful position globally and wields an equally loud megaphone that he utilizes to present himself as a messenger of peace, mediating between warring nations to foster harmony. However, his tall claims of being someone who can bring about peace anywhere have once again been exposed against the backdrop of the widespread violence in Los Angeles.
While Trump can try to hide behind the fact that California is a Democrat ruled state with a Democrat Governor and a Democrat Mayor, fact is that even after deployment of National Guard troops by Trump administration, Los Angeles continues to burn.
Over the weekend, demonstrators filled the streets of Los Angeles after dozens of people were arrested during federal immigration raids. While police deployed rubber bullets and tear gas to try and control the crowd, thousands blocked roadways and set self-driving cars on fire. Protests swept through the city and neighboring areas, including Compton and Paramount.
Agitators and federal officials blamed each other for the escalation, which started as minor tensions on the afternoon of 6th June and took a violent turn swiftly. Protesters hurled rocks, bottles and fireworks on cops. On the evening of 7th June, Trump directed 2,000 members of the National Guard to head to the region.
NOW: LOS ANGELES LOOKS LIKE AN ABSOLUTE WARZONE, as riots intensify
Antifa militants are now ADVANCING on police, setting more fires, and destroying property pic.twitter.com/XG0xL3lWRt— {Matt} $XRPatriot (@matttttt187) June 8, 2025
Around 60 people, including people under the age of 18, were arrested on 8th June in San Francisco as protests outside the Immigration Services building turned volatile. During a broadcast, Lauren Tomasi, a US correspondent for CNN station Nine News in Australia was struck by a rubber bullet fired by police which left her sore.
Meanwhile, on 8th June, California National Guard troops made an aggressive entrance in Los Angeles. Trump’s decision to mobilize about 2,000 guardsmen was the first time a president has done this without the governor’s request since 1965, however, it did not yield immediate results. State and municipal leaders, including Governor Gavin Newsom, strongly criticized the move. While Trump claims he can bring any war in the world to an end, he couldn’t stop his fight with Newsom to work together to bring peace to Los Angeles.
Newsom referred to the president as a “dictator” and argued that the deployment was “not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis.” He also called the action “purposefully inflammatory” which will “only escalate tensions.” The Trump administration was formally urged to withdraw the troops by Newsom’s office in a letter.
I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command.
We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while… pic.twitter.com/tOtA5dcfxc— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 8, 2025
While condemning violent protestors, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass who is also a Democrat, accused the Trump administration for raising fears by mobilizing the National Guard, thus adding fuel to the fire..
Instead of working together with Californian officials to try and maintain peace, Trump said, “If governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, the federal government will step in and solve the problem, riots and looters, the way it should be solved.”
Furthermore, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that the Marines at neighboring Camp Pendleton were “on high alert” and that the Pentagon was ready to bring in active-duty troops “if violence continues” in Los Angeles. According to US Northern Command, approximately 500 Marines were ready to deploy at any time.
Don't confuse this with Syria, this is Los Angeles, US . pic.twitter.com/Ap0ol2KBcC
— BALA (@erbmjha) June 9, 2025
Interestingly, Los Angeles continues to be on fire and Trump is unable to reconcile with the people in his own country. He often identifies himself as a peacemaker between conflicting countries, however, he did not hesitate to employ major force to confront an inconvenient situation in his homeland.
Additionally, his officials have threatened to take even more drastic measures to address the problem rather than opting for a “peaceful dialogue” which their leader often recommends for other countries.
Claims of mediation between India and Pakistan
On 7th May, India initiated “Operation Sindoor” as a response to the Pakistan-sponsored terror attack that occurred in Pahalgam on 22nd April. New Delhi not only dismantled terror infrastructure at nine different locations in Pakistan but also hit its airbases, jets and an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft when Islamabad attempted to attack civilian areas along the border.
The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Pakistan transmitted an official message on the evening of 7th May and asked India to halt hostilities. India and Pakistan convened a DGMO-level meeting to negotiate a ceasefire accord on 10th May at 3:35 pm at the Islamic Republic’s instance.
Nonetheless, Trump and his administration commended themselves and asserted that the agreement was achieved due to their involvement. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on 10th May.
Trump alleged that he threatened the two nations with trade suspension and even “invited” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for a “nice dinner,” as he spared no effort in portraying himself as a messiah of peace. The statements were welcomed by Pakistan but India consistently refuted Trump had any involvement.
According to Randhir Jaiswal, who serves as the spokesperson for foreign ministry, high-ranking leaders in Washington and New Delhi had a conversation after the Indian military’s tense confrontation with Pakistan, but trade was not mentioned. He strongly maintained that it was the might of Indian weaponry that led Pakistan to stop its aggressive actions and seek dialogue, rather than any outside mediation.
Moreover, the arguments put forth by his administration to justify his high tariffs on trading partners revealed that he fabricated the story of intervention between India and Pakistan to secure a favorable outcome. Nevertheless, the United States court dismissed his claims and he suffered a stinging loss.
Trump’s flip-flop on Russia-Ukraine war
Trump, known for his tendency to exaggerate, consistently asserted throughout his presidential campaign that he could resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine after assuming office. “There’s a very easy negotiation to take place. But I don’t want to tell you what it is because then I can’t use that negotiation, it’ll never work,” Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity said.
Trump insisted that he could “resolve” the conflict “within 24 hours” if he returned to the White House. “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying and I’ll have that done. I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” he said in a townhall in May 2023.
“Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled. I’ll get it settled very fast. I don’t want you guys going over there. I don’t want you going over there,” Trump told a National Guard Conference in August of last year.
In February, Trump charged that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been serving as a “dictator without elections” and even stated that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.” He added that “we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something all admit only Trump and the Trump administration can do.”
His meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office turned into a complete disaster. From the temporary cessation of military support to Ukraine to accusing the nation’s leader of prolonging the “killing field” and even denouncing Russia’s actions after a deadly onslaught on Kyiv, he made excessive efforts to present himself as the most powerful world leader able to ease conflicts and negotiate peace.
However, the relationship between both countries has only declined further. Trump even effortlessly retracted his promise of resolving the ongoing fight. “Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that. What I really mean is I’d like to get it settled and I think I’ll be successful,” during an interview in March.
Rather than a cessation of hostilities, Ukraine utilized 117 drones to attack “34% of (Russia’s) strategic cruise missile carriers” in a large-scale operation that further heightened the conflict after which Moscow reacted with deadly strikes.
Last month, Trump engaged in a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted over two hours, however, he was unable to persuade him to consent to an immediate ceasefire.
Trump has stated that negotiations have been more challenging than anticipated as his pledge to resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis never materialized. He even voiced that he believes Putin would “rather go and take the whole thing” with regards to Ukraine.
Trump failed to deliver peace in Gaza
Trump began his second term with modest progress toward resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, but peace in the region continues to be a distant dream. His envoy Steve Witkoff worked with Brett McGurk, the departing Biden administration’s Middle East adviser to persuade Hamas and Israeli leaders to sign a short-term ceasefire agreement that took effect the day before Trump’s inauguration.
33 hostages held in Gaza and around 2,000 Palestinian inmates imprisoned by Israel were freed as a result. However, the truce broke down in March and the fighting resumed because the two sides could not agree on the return of the 59 captives that were still alive, more than half of whom Israeli officials consider to be dead.
The situation continues to be dire. Israel also stopped providing any aid to the region and accused Hamas of stealing the supplies for its own purposes. Trump’s actions caught Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off guard, instead of alleviating tensions between Israel and Gaza.
The latter is adamant about fully dismantling Iran’s nuclear operations and seeks to bomb its centrifuges and other facilities with assistance from the United States. However, Trump wants to prevent war and be celebrated as a “peacemaker” and hence desires to open dialogue with Tehran. There could be conflict between the two, even in relation to Syria.
Trump had outlined his plan to transform the region into the “Riviera of the Middle East” according to which around two million Palestinians would have to be relocated to nearby areas. Trump later stated that he would “recommend” but not implement his plan in response to opposition from the Arab world.
Arab League leaders convened to develop a counterproposal which was turned down by Israel and the United States because of issues with the proposed postwar governance of Gaza, among other things. Trump claimed that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians” from Gaza while Arab foreign ministers affirmed that they and the US special envoy are still discussing Egypt’s plan.
Trump told reporters that he is pressing Netanyahu “very hard” to get food and medicine into Gaza when he was travelling to Rome for the pope’s funeral. However, he did not address inquiries regarding the latter’s response to his request. Moreover, the Jewish state has maintained its military efforts in Gaza.
“While we continue to work to secure the release of all remaining hostages, Hamas has chosen violence over peace, and President Trump has ensured that Hamas continues to face the gates of hell until it releases the hostages and disarms,” the spokesman for the National Security Council declared as he rejected the notion that Trump has not succeeded in his attempts to identify a resolution to the Gaza conflict.
Conclusion
During Trump’s tenure, the White House along with him personally try to showcase America’s unmatched hold on world politics and assert that he could bring adversarial nations to the negotiating table and promote global peace. However, the reality starkly contrasts this narrative, as he has continually failed to fulfill his lofty commitments time after time.
Additionally, he has also resorted to outright falsehoods to bolster his image among his supporters. The escalating disorder around the world persists, despite his repeated commitments to resolve it which serves as a glaring indication of the reality. More importantly, he cannot secure peace in his own country while professing to do so on a global scale.
His performance is equally poor at home and abroad while his claims are inflated. Ironically, Trump is unable to negotiate with members of an opposing political party or convince them to align with his stance on conflict resolution in the United States, but he claims to be capable of doing it between countries with longstanding animosities.
He intends to portray himself as a primary candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in international diplomacy, however, his peaceful approach transforms into confrontational tactics when confronted with minor domestic challenges.