U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday tried to connect his intention to end the war in Ukraine to a personal belief that achieving peace might help him get to heaven.
"I want to try and get to heaven, if possible," Trump said on Fox & Friends, just a day after hosting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House.
"I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons."
The statement was particularly striking given the fact that a president whose rhetorical style typically rests on strength and self-confidence. Even as Trump's supporters often celebrate him in nearly messianic terms, on Tuesday he openly stated that he doesn't even know if he will be saved.
At a White House briefing later in the day, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked whether Trump’s comments were made in jest. "I think the president was serious," she said, as cited by The New York Times. "I think the president wants to get to heaven- as I hope we all do in this room as well."
Reflections on mortality have become more common for Trump as he has grown older. "You know, there's a certain point at which you don't want to hear 'Happy Birthday,'" he said when he turned 78, as quoted by The News York Times. "You just want to pretend the day doesn't exist."
"My father lived a long time, my mother lived a long time, and they were happy, and they were great. So maybe we're going to live a long time. I hope so,” Trump added.
His parents have also figured into his spiritual reflections in the past. After his conviction of 34 felony counts, he told supporters, "Now my beautiful parents are up in heaven, I think they are. They're up there, looking down. They say, 'How did this happen to my son?'"
At a rally in Madison Square Garden in October, Trump said, "I know my mother's in heaven. I'm not 100% sure about my father, but it's close."
