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The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 was in the news much before the name of Venezuela’s Maria Kurina Machado was announced as the winner on October 10 (Friday). Why? Because US President Donald Trump repeatedly kept saying he “deserved” the prize because he had “ended seven wars”.
Last week, he teased the possibility of ending an eighth war if Israel and Hamas agree to his peace plan aimed at concluding the nearly two-year war in Gaza.
“Nobody’s ever done that,” he told a gathering of military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. “Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not. They’ll give it to some guy that didn’t do a damn thing.”
Machado has won the prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
Why Trump wanted the Nobel peace prize so badly
Trump’s four predecessors have won the award — Barack Obama in 2009, Jimmy Carter in 2002, Woodrow Wilson in 1919 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. All but Carter won the award while in office, with Obama named laureate less than eight months after taking office — the same position Trump is in now.
The Nobel committee was met with fierce criticism in 2009 for giving Obama the prize barely nine months into his first term. Many had argued Obama had not been in office long enough to have an impact worthy of the Nobel.
Times Trump demanded Nobel Peace Prize this year
Trump has demanded the prize at least 10 times, making it seem like political posturing. A look at some of his comments:
February: After his meeting with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said: “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”
August 18: At a summit with Ukrainian and European leaders, he said:
“If you look at the six deals I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn’t do any ceasefires.” The next day (August 19), he corrected/expanded: “We ended seven wars.”
September 21: At a dinner event, he reiterated: “Think of India and Pakistan … And you know how I stopped that … I deserve [the Nobel Prize] … ending seven wars.”
October: Before the Nobel announcement, Trump said that not awarding him would be an insult to the U.S.: “I will tell you that … it will be a big insult to our country…They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s too bad, I deserve it.”
The 8 wars Trump claims to have ended
Israel and Iran
Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Armenia and Azerbaijan
Thailand and Cambodia
India and Pakistan
Egypt and Ethiopia
Serbia and Kosovo
Rwanda
Gabon
Trump also announced the conclusion of a ceasefire and hostage deal on Wednesday, under the first phase of his initiative to end the war in Gaza.
Many of his claims, such as India-Pakistan one, however, remained contested. In some cases, fact-checks proved that the claims fell short.
Who all supported Trump’s bid?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet
US Congressman Buddy Carter
Lawmakers from Sweden and Norway
The Nobel Committee’s deadline for nominations was February 1, 2025. Nominations made after that date, such as those from Netanyahu and the Pakistani government, are not eligible for consideration this year.
Who were Trump’s other key competitors?
The committee said it had received 338 nominations, comprising 244 individuals and 94 organisations.
The names in contention, according to media reports, were Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a grassroots network helping civilians amid war and famine; Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has become a voice for democracy and justice; The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, known for its role in election monitoring; United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, for his global diplomacy efforts; UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees), for their work amid growing humanitarian crises; the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), both seen as defenders of global accountability; Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), both recognised for defending press freedom during a year of record journalist deaths, especially in Gaza; Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, nominated by the Pakistan World Alliance and Norwegian party Partiet Sentrum for his “work with human rights and democracy in Pakistan”; Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, nominated for his “commitment to dialogue, regional harmony, and peace through non-coercive diplomacy”; Elon Musk, nominated by Slovenian MEP Branko Grims for “defending freedom of speech”.
How many times has Trump been nominated?
Trump has been nominated several times by people within the U.S. as well as politicians abroad since 2018. His name also was put forward in December by U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), her office said in a statement, for his brokering of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states in 2020.
Nominations made this year from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pakistan’s government occurred after the Feb. 1 deadline for the 2025 award.
Did Trump seek the award earlier?
In 2019, during his first tenure, Trump had said: “I think I’m going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t.”
The same year, he had claimed Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe had nominated him and said he might never get one, complaining about perceived unfairness.
What went against Trump? The 5 key factors
Gaza deal came too late: According to Norwegian daily VG, the committee took its decision on Monday – before the announcement of the Gaza deal. Even if its five members had known about it before making their choice for this year’s award, it is unlikely they would have rushed into a decision they usually spend months debating.
Efforts not proven to be long-lasting: Nobel veterans told Reuters the committee prioritizes sustained, multilateral efforts over quick diplomatic wins. Theo Zenou, a historian and research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said Trump’s efforts have not yet been proven to be long-lasting.
WHO, Paris Climate Accords factors: Nina Graeger, head of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, told Reuters that Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization and the 2015 Paris climate accords, and his trade war with allies, went against the spirit of Nobel’s will. “If you look at Alfred Nobel’s will, it emphasizes three areas: one is the achievements regarding peace: brokering a peace deal,” she said. “The other is to work and promote disarmament and the third is to promote international cooperation.”
Focus on quiet work: Experts say the Norwegian Nobel Committee which announces the award typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.
Putin factor: Asle Sveen, a historian of the award, cited Trump’s attempted rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other reasons. “His admiration of dictators counts also against him,” Sveen said. “This goes against Alfred Nobel’s will,” Sveen said, as quoted by Reuters.
Who won Nobel Peace Prize last year?
Last year’s award went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have worked for decades to maintain a taboo around the use of nuclear weapons.
Is there a chance for him later?
Experts say his chances may be boosted in the future if the diplomatic initiatives lead to durable outcomes.
The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway. Four of the other prizes have already been awarded in the Swedish capital, Stockholm this week — in medicine on Monday, physics on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The winner of the prize in economics will be announced on Monday.
With Reuters, AP Inputs
