He’s been campaigning for it for weeks, and will doubtless see being passed over for the prestigious award as an unbearable snub. But in reality, he was never really in the frame – nor should he have been
Donald Trump didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course he didn’t.
He’s been campaigning for it for weeks, and will doubtless see being passed over for the prestigious award as an unbearable snub.
But in reality, he was never really in the frame. The closing date for nominations was January 31, just 11 days into his second Presidency.
And while two people threw his hat in the ring for the Abraham Accords, which he brokered in 2020 at the end of his first stint in the Oval Office – securing a ceasefire in Gaza is the example of “peacemaking” at the top of everyone’s mind.
Much like Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka and his autobiography, The Art of the Deal, the Trump Gaza Peace Plan is an exercise in taking a product made by someone else and slapping his branding on it.
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The framework of the deal is almost identical to the one proposed by his most hated predecessor, Joe Biden, last April.
That plan included the removal of Hamas, a regional strategy and post-war reconstruction along the same lines as Trump’s deal.
But a ceasefire and hostage deal inked in January, days before Trump took office – but with his backing alongside Biden’s – collapsed after 42 days.
And the biggest difference between his deal and Biden’s – a “Board of Peace to oversee Gaza, headed by Trump with assistance from Tony Blair – has been rejected by the terror group.
Aside from Gaza, and in the absence of a resolution to the war in Ukraine, Trump’s claim to be the “President of Peace” are hinged on his assertion that he’s stopped or ended seven wars.
But he’s openly admitted to having used the threat of eye-watering tariffs to persuade countries to set aside their differences, so the longevity of these truces remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Trump has renamed the Department of Defence to the Department of War.
He’s deployed thousands of American troops to states run by Democrat politicians he doesn’t like – with many fearing this will be a prelude to the military being used to intimidate voters ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
He continues to falsely insist the 2020 election was rigged and stolen from him, something the famously pro-democracy Nobel Committee would probably take a dim view of.
And he keeps carrying out legally dubious airstrikes on alleged drug boats leaving Venezuela, which many say amount to extrajudicial executions of the sailors aboard.
So as it stands, calling him the President of Peace would be a stretch.
As for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize, he will no doubt be nominated for his Trump-branded peace deal in the coming days and weeks.
Knowing how well he responds to flattery, many of those putting his name forward will be keen to curry favour with the world’s most powerful man.
But for him to be in the running, there needs to be not just a ceasefire and hostage deal, but a year of peace in the Middle East.
And when was the last time that happened?