Trump pushes for Nobel Peace Prize

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his aides are stepping up a public push for the Nobel Peace Prize, pointing to a series of international peace agreements and warning that denying him again would be an injustice.

The White House has been highlighting Trump’s role in easing global tensions, portraying him as a “peacemaker” despite his combative political style. Officials cite his mediation efforts in disputes involving Israel and Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Leaders of several of these nations have reportedly backed calls for Trump to receive the award.

Trump has also touted his attempts to defuse a conflict between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, claiming he used trade incentives to help end hostilities.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month that Trump had “brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month” in his first six months in office. “It’s well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” she said.

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In recent weeks, the prize has become a recurring theme in Trump’s inner circle. Leavitt mentioned it in three of four July press briefings, after months of silence on the issue. Since starting his second term, Trump has posted about the award seven times on his social media platform, six of them in June and July, often suggesting he deserves it but will not win.

“The president feels that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, but does not think he will get it,” a White House official said anonymously. “He’s joked it will go to someone who writes a book about Donald Trump rather than to Trump himself.”

The Nobel committee, which selects winners independently, accepts nominations until the end of January and announces the award in October. It keeps deliberations secret for 50 years.

While politicians cannot influence the choice, Trump has reportedly raised the subject with Norway before. A Norwegian outlet reported that he mentioned the prize during a recent call with the country’s finance minister and former NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg. The White House confirmed the call but did not say whether the prize was discussed.

Diplomats say the Nobel process is immune to the type of pressure and publicity that drives politics. “This is a decision made by people who are independent and have their own point of view,” one Western diplomat said. “You can’t buy it. Norway doesn’t need the money.”