President Donald Trump is eager to be recognized as a peacemaker. His administration has obliged by adding his name to the building that houses the U.S. Institute of Peace in downtown D.C.
“Donald J. Trump” is now emblazoned in several places on what has often been dubbed the Peace building, according to eyewitnesses and photos obtained by The Washington Post.
The move comes after the president’s work to settle global conflicts this year and ahead of his plan to host leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to sign a White House-brokered peace deal between the two countries. That signing is expected to take place at USIP on Thursday.
Trump is also widely expected on Friday to receive FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize, a new award created to honor individuals who’ve “helped to unite people all over the world in peace,” at the nearby Kennedy Center.
The administration’s decision to add Trump’s name to the USIP building comes after the president issued an executive order in February seeking to dismantle the organization, an independent nonprofit group created by Congress. USIP’s president was removed from the headquarters by law enforcement and the Trump administration fired nearly all of USIP’s D.C. based staff. Some diplomats and former staff say they are unsure what the building is used for now.
USIP and members of its board sued the Trump administration, arguing the president does not have the authority to fire the group’s leadership or staff as USIP was created by Congress. A federal district judge ruled in May that Trump had acted unlawfully, but the order is stayed pending appeal.
A person familiar with the decision said the addition of Trump’s name to the building had been “in the works for quite a while.” The move was intended to recognize Trump as a “global peacemaker,” said another person familiar with the move. Both people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about why Trump’s name was added to the Institute of Peace, and the Institute of Peace declined to comment on the matter.
Trump has tried to craft a reputation as an international peacemaker this term, touting the peace agreement he helped negotiate between Israel and Hamas over the war in Gaza and promising to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia as he openly lobbied for a Nobel Peace Prize. Other global leaders and advocacy groups, including some seeking to curry favor with the president, have praised his work to settle conflicts and called for him to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize and other awards.
“Hard to believe, right? Did you ever think I was going to be called a peacemaker?” Trump said in an exchange with a reporter in October. “I did.”
John Hudson contributed to this report.
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