As with so many things in today’s politics, what first began as a joke could now potentially become a reality. In this case, calls for President Donald Trump to be nominated—and awarded—the Nobel Peace Prize were at first made in humor, then in earnest. Of course, Trump has made no secret that he wants the prize, and has since his first term—but few believed he should have seriously been considered.
After all, Trump obviously wanted it, at least in part, to fulfill his desire to one-up former President Barack Obama, who received it in his first year as president. In fact, it is possible that Trump’s entire fixation on the prize stemmed from his desire to match the perceived successes of his presidential predecessor, with whom Trump had engaged in a long-running one-sided feud—culminating in the president’s humiliation of Trump in 2013 at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Regardless of the motivations behind early calls for Trump’s possible nomination to the peace prize, it is vital to understand that there is today a reasonable case for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize based on his accomplishments. The longer Trump stays in office, and the more good work he performs in bringing peace around the world, the more likely it is that his case will grow stronger.
What Is the Nobel Peace Prize?
The Nobel Peace Prize was originally created by Swedish engineer Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. In his will, Nobel wrote that the considerable fortune he had amassed from the manufacture and sale of the explosive material should be awarded to people and organizations that have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
In the early years, the award was given to leaders of the organized peace movement. After World War II, the prize was awarded “to honour efforts in four main areas: arms control and disarmament, peace negotiation, democracy and human rights, and work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world.” And in the 21st century, the Nobel committee has also awarded the prize to people and organizations who have made efforts to “limit the harm done by man-made climate change.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize annually since 1901, except in years when the world was at war. The committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 105 times to 139 laureates, including four former US presidents and a former vice president.
The Nobel Committee is currently considering 338 nominees for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, including 244 individuals and 94 organizations. The Nobel committee does not consider personal applications for the award. It will meet in private to vote and announce the winner in October.
Trump’s Campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize
Trump has, since his first term, promoted peace and worked assiduously to end conflicts. He has advocated for reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles. He has not outwardly advanced human rights or democracy, the causes of our age—but he has sought to foster international cooperation and general fraternity by playing nice with bad people, and bringing as many warring factions to the peace table as possible.
Moreover, Trump has been calling world leaders, such as former NATO Secretary General and current Finance Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg, asking the Norwegian politician to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s shameless. It’s gauche. But it’s classic Trump. And it is somewhat in keeping with Churchill’s admonition: “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it!”
Trump won’t be writing his own history, as did Churchill. But he can be—and usually is—his own biggest fan. So it should come as no surprise that he has been the most active of anyone in attempting to secure the prize on his own behalf.
Trump Has Helped to End at Least Five Wars
It is worth noting that the braggadocious American commander-in-chief isn’t the only one tooting his peace pipe. The leaders of Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia have all nominated the 47th US president for the prize. This makes sense. Trump has helped to end conflicts in those nations, as well as at least two others:
- India-Pakistan Conflict: Following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir, India and Pakistan fought a four-day war from May 7 until May 10. The war ended following international pressure, including from the United States.
- Israel-Iran Conflict: In June, Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran, kicking off a 12-day war between the two countries. The war ended with a ceasefire after mediation from the Trump administration; Trump reportedly personally interceded with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep the ceasefire intact. While Trump actually escalated the conflict further—launching “Operation Midnight Hammer” against Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22—one could argue that the destruction of those sites cut short what was shaping up to be a much wider, more serious war.
- Thailand-Cambodia Conflict: Throughout July, Thailand and Cambodia fought a series of skirmishes along their disputed border. After pressure from the United States, the two sides signed a ceasefire on July 28, though tensions remain.
- Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have disputed the Nagorno-Karabakh region inside Azerbaijan. After Azerbaijan recaptured the territory in 2023 following a brief war, relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan improved. On August 8, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a peace agreement at the White House. The end of this conflict very well may result in the greatest realignment in Eurasian-wide trade in decades.
- Congo Conflict: On July 19, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a ceasefire agreement with the Rwandan-backed “M23” rebel group. Though the peace process was primarily overseen by Qatar, the United States provided support.
What does this all add up to? As Trump is keen to remind his audiences, he has helped to quell five wars in basically as many months. Salesmanship aside, his claims about being the peacemaker-in-chief are not too far off from his actual record.
The Alaska Summit Was Trump’s Latest Effort to End a War
Contrary to how most Western media sources framed the outcome of the recent summit between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, it was not a failure. Of course, Trump would have been delighted to secure a ceasefire at the meeting—and many commentators seized on the two sides’ failure to achieve this as proof that the summit had been a flop. But fundamentally, the meeting was not about that. According to Trump, in fact, the meeting was entirely Putin’s idea—and Trump seized on the opportunity to make some considerable inroads with his Russian counterpart.
Consider this: the Russian leader had not had any direct contact with his American counterpart in nearly four years. This was an attempt at ‘punishment’ of Putin enacted by the former Biden administration for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ultimately, however, when the world’s two largest nuclear weapons powers are at loggerheads, and do not talk to each other, very dangerous events can play out.
For Trump, therefore, the bar was not walking away with a deal at the Alaska summit. It was just building a rapport with his Russian counterpart. That worked. Certainly the leaders of Europe believed that it worked; after the Alaska summit, they immediately flocked to Washington, DC to attempt to keep Trump on-side in Ukraine. If things keep going unchanged since the Alaska summit, it is very likely that Trump and Putin can truly reset US-Russian relations and bring peace to the world.
Trump Is Trying to End the Gaza War, Too
Before Trump entered office, his team worked with the outgoing Biden administration to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. That deal, which lasted from January until mid-March, saw the return of more than 30 Israeli hostages, as well as the freeing of Palestinians from Israeli jails and the significant lessening of violence inside the Gaza Strip.
Although the ceasefire ultimately fell apart amid mutual recriminations, Trump has tasked his administration’s lead negotiator, Steve Witkoff, with returning both sides to compliance. Witkoff recently visited the Gaza Strip—making him the highest-profile member of the US government to have done so since the war began in October 2023.
Bottom Line: Prize or No Prize, Trump Is Serious About Promoting Peace
Thus, discussion about Trump being granted the Nobel Peace Prize is no longer just a joke—or a delusion concocted by the 47th president as a means of settling reputational scores with Obama.
What is most strange is the fact that Trump is openly advocating for his nomination. No other candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize is known to have done this—at least not as publicly and audaciously as Trump has. Nevertheless, the president has brought peace to multiple conflicts, strengthening his case for the prize.
Now that the Alaska summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is over, with the meetings between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy coming to a close, the fact of the matter there is still hope that Trump will be able to help achieve some semblance of peace between the warring sides in the Ukraine War. It still looks far off. Still, no one has walked away angrily from these meetings, vowing vengeance or that they would shut down future discussions. That alone shows that Trump is, to use the Nobel committee’s own language, working for fraternity between nations.
Even if Trump doesn’t orchestrate the end of the Ukraine War, the fact remains that he has brought peace to multiple other conflicts around the world. And he’s done it in his first eight months in office. Prize or no prize, no other president has enjoyed that kind of success.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, The Asia Times, and others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / noamgalai.
