Overview

• In a Fox & Friends interview on Aug. 19, President Trump said he wants to "try and get to heaven" and linked that hope to ending the Ukraine war, adding that saving “7,000 people a week” would be “pretty good.”
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the president was serious about the comment.
• The remarks followed a flurry of diplomacy that included a meeting with Vladimir Putin last week and White House talks on Aug. 18 with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
• Religious leaders and commentators debated the theology of salvation and good works, while Bishop Robert Barron praised Trump's humility and suggested his 2024 assassination scare deepened his reflection.
• Trump’s mediation effort remains underway with no commitments from Putin reported, and the afterlife comment drew widespread mockery on social media.