Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘I don’t like young, handsome men’ Trump insists before he torches ‘attractive’ AOC in rambling Peace Board speech

Trump’s speech to his Board of Peace, a group of mostly autocratic leaders, included threats on Iran and yet more complaints about not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize ... and bizarrely ended with the Village People’s YMCA

Trump insults 'attractive' AOC during Board of Peace speech

President Donald Trump couldn't stop himself from embarking on a nearly 40-minute ramble through a wide variety of disparate topics at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, charged with overseeing implementation of his 20-point Gaza peace plan — including his dislike for attractive males and the appearance of one of his most prominent female foils in the U.S. Congress.

Trump was winding his way through his latest digression from prepared remarks, praising himself and the group of autocrats and Middle Eastern monarchs who have joined his panel when he found himself seemingly feeling the need to affirm his sexual preferences after commenting on Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s appearance, calling him a “young, handsome guy.”

“It's always nice to be young and handsome — it doesn't mean we have to like you. I don't like young handsome men,” Trump said.

“Women, I like. Men, no, I don’t have any interest,” he added before laughing nervously.

Trump then continued with his rundown of the world leaders in attendance at the event before pivoting from offering praise for Vice President JD Vance’s academic record to insulting the intelligence of “attractive” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by claiming the Boston University graduate “didn’t do well ... in college.”

U.S President Donald Trump holds a gavel, during the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S President Donald Trump holds a gavel, during the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (REUTERS)

Trump hit out at the Bronx Democrat, a longtime target of his rhetorical barbs, for a disastrously awkward answer she’d given days earlier during an appearance at the Munich Security Conference after she was asked about America’s defense commitment to Taiwan.

Ocasio-Cortez’s halting, hesitant answer was widely mocked in conservative media spaces over the last week, and though Trump didn’t mention her name it was clear about whom he was speaking.

“There was one young, attractive woman, she was unable to answer questions, and she didn't do so well like JD did in college,” Trump said, contrasting her academic record with the vice president’s.

“She was unable to answer a simple question. And she could have said, ‘well, I'm studying it, and I'll report back to you next week.’ You know, you can get away with that. But ... actually, I think it could be a career ending answer, because for 25 years, anybody running against her, I think ... is going to use that, that little piece of stuff. It was not good. It was not good,” Trump added.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2026. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2026. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen (REUTERS)

The president continued his meandering speech for another 30 minutes, during which he repeated his oft-used boast about having singlehandedly ended as many as eight world conflicts, most of which are still ongoing despite his claims to the contrary.

The “Board of Peace” meeting was held at the former headquarters of the United States Institute for Peace, which Trump and his erstwhile “Department of Government Efficiency” boss Elon Musk attempted to hollow out last year by firing most of the independent organization’s employees and forcing the transfer of the institute’s gleaming headquarters to the State Department — which promptly renamed it after the president.

Trump remarked that “nobody knew what to name” the building — which had long been called the U.S. Institute for Peace — until Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the renaming.

Although the president has long made a habit of slapping his name on everything from steaks to the Washington, D.C. arts center that is a memorial to assassinated president John F. Kennedy, he claimed Rubio had done so without his knowledge.

“Nobody believes it, and that's okay, but I appreciated it,” he said.

Trump’s remarks were the opening act of an hours-long session that saw most, of not all of the assembled leaders who’ve chosen to join the new international organization deliver short speeches of their own in which most of them offered over-the-top praise to the American president that was reminiscent of the sycophantic comments seen during one of his administration’s cabinet meetings.

Although he used the televised speech to saber-rattle at Iran’s leaders by threatening “bad things” if Tehran and Washington can’t reach a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program within “the next, probably 10 days,” the leaders and top diplomats in attendance — plus FIFA president Gianni Infantino — each took pains to thank Trump and hail his commitment to the Gaza peace process, with the president announcing commitments of at least $7 billion from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait — plus troops or police training assistance from Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Albania, Egypt and Jordan.

Trump, who the organization’s charter lists as its chairman — a position he can hold for the rest of his life if he so desires — has in recent months tried to expand the new group’s supposed remit to something more in line with his outsized ambitions to position himself as a transformational American leader and an indispensable man of world history.

Rather than a purpose-built body to oversee the Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction as intended by the U.N., the charter signed by Trump the other “Board of Peace” members make no mention of the Gaza conflict or the fact that the board’s mandate is limited to Gaza and expires at the end of 2027.

Instead, it describes itself as “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict” that is composed only of “States invited to participate by the Chairman” — that’s Trump — and willing to donate $1 billion for a permanent membership.

Trump will also serve as the first American representative to the board — a position that will pass to his successor as president — but he’ll remain the board’s chairman for life.

None of the United States’ major European allies have elected to join the organization, and the only EU member state that has done so thus far is Hungary, which is led by autocratic Trump ally Viktor Orban.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in