Donald Trump shared a serious admission regarding his reasons for seeking to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, stating it was not for personal recognition.
On Tuesday’s Fox & Friends, the President remarked, “If I can prevent 7,000 deaths per week, that’s quite positive.” He continued, “I aspire to reach heaven, if achievable. I hear my standing isn’t great; I’m quite low on the ladder. However, if I can reach heaven, this action would be a contributing factor.”
This comment has drawn considerable social media attention, prompting some detractors to jest that an individual recognized for cheating in various aspects of his life, disparaging and misleading people, and evading military service is unlikely to pass through the pearly gates. Some have mused whether his period of introspection suggests a potentially grave illness.
When queried about Trump’s statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commented on Tuesday, “I believe the President was earnest. I think the President desires to reach heaven—as I trust we all do here in this room.”
This represented a striking exhibition of uncertainty regarding one’s ultimate destiny from a figure who has previously hinted at divine endorsement and who has gathered numerous followers who consider him “chosen by God.” Yet, this is not the inaugural instance of Trump openly pondering the afterlife, or even reflecting on his own chances.
“We End Up Somewhere”
In a 1990 interview with Playboy, Trump reportedly stated, “I do not subscribe to beliefs in reincarnation, heaven, or hell—but we do go somewhere. I genuinely cannot ascertain where.”
Throughout the 1990s, Trump progressively detached himself from the Christian Church. A 1997 Playboy profile described him as “not a religious man.”
Two years subsequently, as Trump prepared for a potential 2000 presidential bid under the Reform Party, he differentiated between individual faith in God and formal religious institutions.
On Today in 1999, he remarked, “Firstly, I believe there’s a distinction between faith in God and organized religion. I think God and belief in God hold more significance than organized religion. However, I consider organized religion important because it guides people toward upright conduct.”
“My Sole Path to Heaven”
By the time of his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump portrayed himself as someone who attends church.
In 2015, he commented, “Can you believe it? No one thinks I’m Presbyterian. I am Presbyterian. I am Presbyterian. I am Presbyterian. Honestly, that’s a very mainstream denomination, folks.”
In that same year, he humorously suggested that the presidency would be his means of entering heaven.
Addressing more than 700 evangelical pastors in Orlando, Fla., Trump stated, “So go forth and disseminate the message, and once I am in [the White House], I will perform my duties with great proficiency. And I suspect that might be the only route for me to reach heaven. Therefore, I must perform well.”
Significant Regions Globally Are “Facing Ruin”
Trump has also referenced hell on several occasions. In his 2017 address to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump declared, “Large parts of the world are engaged in conflict, and some, indeed, are descending into chaos.”
His address further mentioned God multiple times, concluding with: “We shall strive together, endure together, and unite for peace, for liberty, for fairness, for family, for humankind, and for the omnipotent God who created us all. Thank you, God bless you, God bless the world’s nations, and God bless the United States of America.”
He also asserted that the U.S. was “going to hell” in 2015 and again in other instances during his presidential campaigns.
During his second-term inauguration speech, Trump stated, “I simply wish to express gratitude to everyone, especially God. I was divinely preserved to restore America’s greatness.”
“Should I Be Virtuous, I Will Attain Heaven”
In an August 2024 interview following an incident in Butler, Pa., Trump stated, “I do [believe in heaven]. If I behave well, I will go to heaven. And if I behave poorly, I will go elsewhere.”
When queried about his prayers, he responded, “Well, I pray for our nation. Naturally, I pray. I pray for the same things you do—our family and our country… and I suppose we have a world. I pray for the world as well.”
Later in September, Trump, aged 79, recounted on an episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast how a “highly successful” friend in his eighties disclosed that he frequently contemplates mortality: “He remarked, ‘I think about it constantly.’ Then, a week subsequent, he telephoned me to convey something, initiating the dialogue by saying, ‘Tick-tock, tick-tock.’ This individual is somewhat bleak, yet that is how it stands.”
Trump further added: “If one is religious, I believe one possesses a more positive outlook concerning it. One is ideally meant to go to heaven, not hell, but one is presumed to go to heaven if virtuous.”
Uncertainty Regarding His Father’s Entry to Heaven
At an election rally held last October in Madison Square Garden, Trump conveyed to an audience of approximately 20,000 individuals that he is “not entirely certain” about his father’s prospects of having passed into the afterlife.
Trump stated, “My father is observing me from above at this moment. He was a stern individual, but he was genuine. And I am certain my mother is in heaven. I am not entirely sure about my father, though he is likely close.”
Trump’s humorous remark was made during a diatribe concerning four legal cases, which encompassed allegations of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss, mismanaging classified documents, and fabricating business records to conceal “hush money” payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump concluded, “He is observing me now, and he is saying, ‘How on earth did this befall my son? He is not an ill-intentioned individual.’”