Donald Trump
(Bloomberg) — Norway is bracing for the aftermath of the Nobel Peace Prize announcement on Friday as the Nordic nation has faced increasing pressure from Donald Trump and his administration to award it to the US leader.
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Trump’s aggressive push to secure the prize, including public declarations he deserves it and calls to Norwegian officials, has intensified with a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a possible peace deal. At the same time, the decisionmakers at the Norwegian Nobel Committee have signaled that this pressure has been futile.
In a social media post overnight Thursday, Trump’s son Eric asked his followers on X to “retweet if you believe @realDonaldTrump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.” The White House official account on X posted a photo of Trump calling him “The Peace President” at about the same time.
And later Thursday, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb, Trump again pushed his track record in peacemaking.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do, really, but I know this: that nobody in history has solved eight wars in a period of nine months, and I’ve stopped eight wars,” he said. “So that’s never happened before, but they’ll have to do what they do. Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for that. I did it because I saved a lot of lives.”
Stubb acknowledged the decision on the prize belongs with the Nobel Committee, but lauded Trump’s achievements.
“I have to say that the track record of the President of the United States in the past seven months, eight months, is rather impressive.”
Trump’s campaign has thrust Oslo into an uncomfortable spotlight, with media and observers worrying about the diplomatic and economic fallout for Norway should the independent five-member committee snub him. The latest comments from its head, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, to local media fell just short of confirming that Trump won’t get it at least this year — in line with past examples where pressure on the committee has been counterproductive.
Watne Frydnes told Norwegian tabloid VG that the decision on this year’s award was made Monday. He also indicated in comments to public broadcaster NRK that the possible peace deal in the Middle East would only count toward next year’s award. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has reiterated that the government does not interfere in Nobel decisions.