Why is Donald Trump suddenly interested in Sudan?

President Donald Trump wants to be seen as a peacemaker, but until now, he has avoided getting enmeshed in conflicts on the African continent. That is changing, as he eyes a push for peace in war-torn Sudan.

Trump had viewed Sudan’s war as “not a crisis he wanted to get involved with,” said The New York Times. But the recent White House visit from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia may have changed things. “We’re going to start working on it,” Trump said after meeting the prince. That pledge could be a “game changer” in a conflict that has killed as many as 400,000 people and displaced up to 12 million more, said the Times.

The civil war between Sudan’s military and opposition Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is the “world’s most overlooked conflict,” said Foreign Policy. Saudi Arabia, which sits across the Red Sea from Sudan, sees the war as a “threat to its national security,” and the war is fueling broader regional instability. Until the push from bin Salman, though, it was “not on my charts to be involved in that,” Trump said. America’s touch may be needed. A settlement “needs sustained pressure from all parties,” said Charlotte Slente, secretary-general of the Danish Refugee Council.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

What did the commentators say?

Sudan is suffering from its war, and America has the “tools to end it,” said The Washington Post editorial board. The conflict is fueled by the United Arab Emirates, which supplies weapons to the RSF, while Egypt backs Sudan’s armed forces. Both countries “would be susceptible” to American pressure. On top of that, it would aid Trump’s quest to be seen as a peacemaker. A deal in Sudan would “significantly strengthen” Trump’s case for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Results from this month’s elections sent the message that Americans are “worried about the economy,” said Lindsey Granger at The Hill. Trump instead is “preparing to jump into a new global conflict.” Sudan has been “crushed by civil war for more than two years,” but one poll shows that Trump’s approval rate is hovering under 40%. Pair that with Trump’s recent defense of visas for foreign workers seeking employment in the U.S., and we may be witnessing a “break in the MAGA dam.” That raises a question for Trump: “How long can you run on ’America First’ while spending so much time everywhere else?”

What next?

Trump’s new focus on Sudan “could draw the ire of several key Republicans,” like outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and strategist Steve Bannon, said Politico. They argue the president “needs to focus less on foreign policy” and more on domestic issues like affordability.

The Saudi prince believes Trump’s “direct pressure” is needed to break the stalemate in Sudan, said Reuters. A ceasefire is necessary to get humanitarian aid flowing. The world needs to see “actionable results” from the peace process, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and “they need to happen very quickly.”