US President Donald Trump continues to remain fixated on securing a Nobel Peace Prize — going as far as to call up Norwegian officials to demand the award. The POTUS has mounted a vehement campaign to secure the award in recent weeks — garnering nominations from Pakistan and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to a report by Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv, Trump had called Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg last month to discuss his Nobel award plans.
“Out of the blue, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called. He wanted the Nobel Prize – and to discuss tariffs,” the publication quoted sources as saying.
‘If I was named Obama…’
He had brought up the topic during his first term in office — repeatedly insisting that he was the first US President since Jimmy Carter to avoid deploying soldiers into new conflicts. He had also expressed frustration that former President Barack Obama received the award ‘for not doing anything” and repeatedly contrasted his own peacekeeping efforts against the Democrat. A particularly sore spot appears to be the speed at which Obama secured the Nobel — less than eight months into his first term.
“If I were named Obama I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds. He got the Nobel Prize. He didn’t even know what the hell he got it for. Remember, he got elected. Well so did I. He got elected and they announced he was getting the Nobel Prize. … He got the Nobel Prize for doing nothing, for getting elected, but I got elected too,” he had fumed during an election rally in October 2024.
Continued obsession with Nobel Prize
His desire to secure the prestigious award has grown exponentially over the past few months, with repetitive social media posts insisting that he was a deserving candidate. Trump has touted himself as a ‘peacemaker’ who played pivotal roles in ending dozens of conflicts. The assertions include his oft repeated claim of averting “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan — despite multiple clarifications by New Delhi. The White House has also stepped forward — with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting earlier this month that it was “well past time” for the Nobel committee to listen.
“I won’t get a Nobel Prize for stopping the war between India and Pakistan. I won’t get a Nobel Prize for stopping the war between Serbia and Kosovo, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping peace between Egypt and Ethiopia, and I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East….No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” he wrote on Truth Social in June.