❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to contact the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to mediate their escalating border conflict.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, and their respective militaries.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The rally occurred in Pennsylvania on December 9, 2025, as the border clashes intensified earlier this week.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries.’ We’re making peace through strength,” Trump said during the rally.
🎯IMPACT: Heavy fighting has displaced over half a million people, with at least a dozen fatalities reported along the Thailand-Cambodia border.
President Donald J. Trump told supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night that he plans to personally call the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia in an attempt to halt the renewed border war between the two Southeast Asian nations. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries.’ We’re making peace through strength,” Trump said.
Heavy fighting has erupted along the countries’ roughly 500-mile border. Clashes have left at least a dozen people dead and forced more than half a million residents from their homes. Reports from the region indicate that Cambodian forces have launched rocket attacks from populated residential areas, while Thailand’s Royal Army has pushed into Cambodian territory using infantry vehicles. Video emerging from the front line shows intense exchanges involving artillery and precision-guided rockets, suggesting the conflict is rapidly escalating.
The renewed hostilities follow the collapse of a Trump-brokered ceasefire signed in October. That deal required both sides to pull back heavy weapons, release detainees, and allow third-party observers, but it unraveled after a landmine explosion injured several Thai soldiers. Thai officials accused Cambodia of planting new mines, an allegation the Cambodians denied.
The crisis comes as Trump promotes a series of international peace efforts. In Washington earlier this month, Rwanda and Congo signed the Washington Accords at the Trump Peace Institute, agreeing to a ceasefire, joint security measures, and economic cooperation. Trump has also touted negotiations that led to agreements between Israel and Hamas this past autumn. He is also pressing Ukraine to reach a peace agreement with Russia by Christmas Day.
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