Trump Praises Prabowo at Inaugural Board of Peace Meeting: 'A Man That I Don't Want to Fight'
US President Donald Trump praised Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace (BoP) in the United States, describing Prabowo as a formidable figure.
“A man that I really like a lot, he is definitely tough, I don’t wanna fight him, President Prabowo of Indonesia,” Trump said in his opening address at the BoP meeting on Thursday (19/2/2026).
“He is a big guy,” Trump added.
Trump also praised Indonesia as a great nation, saying that Prabowo is a figure respected by leaders of other countries.
“I said ‘how many people in Indonesia?’ He said like ‘240 millions’, I said ‘No, no, say that again, how many?’, it’s a big country you have, and you do a great job and respected by everybody,” Trump explained.
Prabowo arrived at the venue for the inaugural BoP meeting in the US on Thursday (19/2/2026) local time. At the gathering, Prabowo was seen standing in the front row alongside a number of other world leaders.
Prabowo was positioned at the far left end of the row, next to Argentine President Javier Gerardo Milei. In addition to Donald Trump, US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were also present at the meeting.
Prabowo described the Board of Peace meeting as highly significant. He outlined the forum’s role as an effort to implement and sustain the ceasefire in Gaza.
He affirmed that Indonesia would continue to seek tangible solutions for Palestinian independence.
“As you are aware, I am here at the invitation of the President of the United States for a very important meeting of the Board of Peace. This is the first official meeting of the council, which was established to address the implementation and sustainability of the ceasefire in Gaza. We are striving to continue forging a path towards a real and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue,” Prabowo said at the Business Summit at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on Wednesday (18/2) local time.