The Balkan Lie Trump Believed

There was no war to stop, only a crisis Grenell helped create. Trump was misled, Kosovo was cornered, and Serbia celebrated.

When President Donald J. Trump, now serving as the 47th President of the United States¹, took to Truth Social recently to claim he had stopped a war between Serbia and Kosovo during his first term, the statement stirred familiar echoes of his political style: grand declarations, simple solutions to complex problems, and an unyielding belief in the power of deal-making. “I stopped it,” he posted, placing himself at the center of peace efforts between two nations long entrenched in hostility. It was an assertion delivered with confidence, but not with truth.

Trump claims credit for preventing war between Serbia and Kosovo during his first term, blaming Biden for "very stupid decisions" that he vows to fix it.

There was no imminent war to stop at the time. What did exist was a manufactured crisis, amplified by actors within his own diplomatic circles, most notably, his former special envoy to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Richard Grenell. Rather than stopping war, Grenell’s meddling, disinformation tactics, and reported backroom negotiations nearly ignited one. And if President Trump believes today that he played the role of peacemaker, it’s …