Donald Trump, who seemingly harbors a keen aspiration to win the Nobel Peace Prize, might be steering his efforts in a peculiar direction in his ongoing attempts to portray himself as a global peacemaker.
Take a historical cue from Neville Chamberlain—he didn’t snag the prestigious award when he appeased Hitler by handing over the Sudetenland, declaring “peace for our time.” Just a year later, Germany stormed into Poland, igniting World War II. Similarly, Trump is unlikely to earn a Nobel if he manages to negotiate a “peace” in Ukraine that heavily leans in favor of Vladimir Putin, the nation’s invader. And just as during the eve of the war in 1939, Poland might once again become the next target, though perhaps not the last.
Trump’s vision for peace in the Middle East doesn’t seem like a pathway to international accolades either. His notion involves the mass displacement of 1.8 million Palestinians out of Gaza, making way for what he envisions as a new “Riviera,” with U.S. military backing if necessary. Certainly not a move that accords with the ideals of a Nobel Prize.
On February 4th, during a White House press event, Trump boldly claimed, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” while standing alongside a pleased Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This was moments before suggesting the permanent displacement of Gazans, violating international norms. Just prior, Trump was fielding questions about his prospects for a Nobel Prize connected to an Israeli-Hamas hostage deal—a deal originally initiated by former President Biden.
With a characteristically defiant tone, Trump remarked, “I deserve it. But they will never give it to me.” He frames it as another scenario where the system allegedly conspires against him, much like his narrative around the 2020 election. This perceived injustice is pinned on Norway’s parliament, elected to sift through countless nominations worldwide, yet emblematic in Trump’s eyes of broader international conspiracies.
Trump’s yearning for the Nobel isn’t new. His first term was peppered with grievances about being overlooked for the award. Speaking to the Future Farmers of America back in 2018, he expressed doubt over ever receiving the honor. By 2019, at the U.S.-Mexico border, he shared that Japan’s leader believed he should be awarded the prize for his engagements with North Korea. Yet, Trump walked away with Kim Jong Un’s “love letters” and Kim with even more nuclear armaments, with claims surfacing that Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had nominated Trump, allegedly at the behest of the Trump administration.
Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump has lamented being more worthy than “Barack Hussein Obama,” who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize early in his own presidency, even admitting himself that the honor was rather premature. Obama’s award underscored his efforts to improve global diplomacy after years of fractured international reputation under George W. Bush’s administration, marred by the Iraq invasion based on faulty intelligence, CIA-operated black sites, and solo diplomatic approaches, among other issues.
Unlike Obama, Trump’s endeavors lack alignment with the Nobel committee’s past rationale. Yet, some of Trump’s allies echo his sentiment of being a victim of unfair treatment. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, claimed Trump could indeed be a worthy recipient for his attempts at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict—”if awarded fairly.” National security advisor Mike Waltz suggested Trump might secure the reward due to his presidency being a “presidency of peace.”
The notion doesn’t hold much water with the Nobel panel, likely not perceiving Trump’s maneuvers in Ukraine or the Middle East as aligning with Alfred Nobel’s aspirational ideals of contributing positively to humanity. On the contrary, on that same day, Trump pinned the blame for the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Ukraine—echoing Putin’s rhetoric—remarking that they “should have never started it,” while Russian figures found humor at the expense of democratic nations.
In a recent clandestine meeting in Saudi Arabia, Trump’s representatives conversed with Putin’s envoys, eliciting frustration from Ukraine and its European allies who were sidelined. Going into negotiations, Trump appeared to offer Putin more than he bargained for: renewed U.S. communications, recognition of Russian-claimed Ukrainian territories, and an opposing stance to Ukraine’s NATO ambitions. Meanwhile, his administration nudged Ukraine with demands for a share of its mineral resources as compensation for past U.S. support.
Vice President JD Vance mirrors Trump’s stance, taking aim at Zelensky and chastising European partners for failing to support far-right political entities. However, not all on the Republican spectrum toe the line; Mike Pence took a stand, posting, “Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion taking countless lives. The path to peace is mapped by the truth.”
For Trump, that path remains untrodden, and with it, the Nobel Peace Prize, seemingly elusive.
