Trump, 'The Peace President', On the Cusp of Winning Nobel Prize

By Deepak Arora

WASHINGTON, Oct 9: US President Donald Trump‘s announcement of bringing Israel-Gaza ceasefire on Thursday and resolving seven other conflicts in the different parts of the world, has made him the most deserving person to win a Nobel Peace Prize this year.

In a short span of nearly nine months of his second term, President Trump has brokered peace between Israel and Iran; India and Pakistan; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo; Thailand and Cambodia; Armenia and Azerbaijan; Egypt and Ethiopia; and Serbia and Kosovo.

There are 338 candidates for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, 244 individuals and 94 organisations, according to USA Today. The winner will be announced on October 10.

Now, the issue with all these nominations for Trump is the fact that the deadline for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize nominations was January 31. It means the said nominations for Donald Trump came too late to be valid.

Qualified individuals, like government officials, can submit them. However, the Nobel Committee does not release the names of nominees until 50 years later.

However, on December 11, New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney said she had nominated Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tenney said the nomination was for their work on the Abraham Accords. The US-brokered agreements normalized Israel’s ties with several Arab nations in 2020.

“Without their work, terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC would still pose a massive threat to all civilians in the Middle East and around the world,” the Congresswoman said in an official statement.
“In a time of global turmoil, the bold and unwavering efforts of these leaders is unprecedented and offers hope for lasting peace in the Middle East and around the world (sic),” she added.

So, while many of Donald Trump’s Nobel nominations were submitted after the January 31 deadline, there is at least one confirmed nomination that came much earlier. It means Donald Trump still stands a chance to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

Four US presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize in the past. They were Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, for brokering peace in the Russo-Japanese war; Woodrow Wilson in 1919, for his efforts in ending World War I and founding the League of Nations; Jimmy Carter in 2002, awarded retrospectively for mediation in the Egypt-Israel peace agreement; and Barack Obama in 2009, recognized for extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

The Nobel peace prize, awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel committee, is among the world’s most prestigious honours and recognises significant contributions to peace efforts.

On Thursday, the White House pegged him as 'The Peace President', even as Donald Trump himself seemed skeptical about his prospects of winning the Nobel Peace Prize despite his claim of settling seven global conflicts. The US President has hinted that the Norwegian Nobel Committee "will find a reason” to not consider him for the global recognition that he believes should belong to him.

This came after Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal for the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza, after days of indirect talks in Egypt.

When asked by a reporter at the White House about his chances of winning the prize that is set to be announced on Friday, Trump said, "I have no idea... Marco (Secretary of State Rubio) would tell you we settled seven wars. We're close to settling an eighth. I think we'll end up settling the Russia situation...I don't think anybody in history has settled that many," he said, referring to Washington's efforts to broker peace between Israel and Hamas and between Russia and Ukraine.

Several countries had nominated Trump, but he expressed concern that "perhaps they'll (the Nobel Committee) find a reason not to give it to me."
While Trump remained doubtful about his prospects, the White House went ahead and shared an image of the Republican leader with the caption, "The Peace President".

Many have made a fanfare of nominating him for the award, even after its deadline ended on January 31. Trump was also nominated during his first term, but did not win.

Among the nations that nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize is Pakistan. On June 20, Islamabad announced it would recommend Trump's name for a Nobel Peace Prize for his "decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis."