Nobel Peace Prize 2025: Will Donald Trump get it? Has he hurt his chances?

Only a few hours are left until the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, 2025, will be announced. Most of the times it has stirred controversy.  US President Donald Trump has already stirred the hornet's nest by launching a campaign for the prize. Analysts believe Trump has damaged his chances by publicly claiming that he deserves the award and that he should get it. Though it is not surprising that the world's most powerful person wants the most prestigious award, the way he has campaigned for the prize is most bizarre and goes against the very ethos of the award itself. In fact, it has been counterproductive and he is most unlikely to get the prize. 

Who nominated Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize?

Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize many times in the past, both by the politicians of his country and abroad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet have nominated the US president to the award committee in Norway. However, the nomination was made after February 1, 2025, the deadline set for nominations for this year. Congressman Buddy Carter nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize "in recognition of his historic role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran."

Trump has added to the woes of the Norwegian Nobel Committee this year by publicly claiming that he should get the award as he has ended seven wars since he was sworn in January 29, 2025. Addressing the 80th annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, he said that "everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize".

Donald Trump slams Nobel committee 

Donald Trump went to the extent of questioning the Nobel Prize Committee. He said, "They gave it to Obama. He didn't even know what he got it for. He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize." Reflecting his longtime obsession with the award, he complained in 2020 that he should have won it instead of Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, who oversaw his country signing a peace deal in its border conflict with Eritrea. Japan, Pakistan, and Israel have nominated him for the most coveted prize on earth. 

Why should Trump not get Nobel Prize?

Yet, he is most unlikely to get the Nobel Peace Prize for a number of reasons. Nina Graeger, the head of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, told journalists, "Beyond trying to broker peace for Gaza, we have seen policies that actually go against the intentions and what's written in the will of (Alfred) Nobel, notably to promote international cooperation, the fraternity of nations and disarmament."

Experts point out that Donald Trump has pulled the US away from international organisations and multilateral treaties, launched trade wars by imposing tariffs on friends and foes alike and threatened to take Greenland from Denmark by force. He also told Canada to be the 51st state of the US to escape high tariffs. Besides, Trump ordered the National Guard into US cities and attacked universities' academic freedoms as well as freedom of expression. Besides, Donald Trump attacked Iran. He also supplied weapons to Israel, and these were used in what the UN said was a genocide in the Gaza Strip. 

Who should get Nobel Peace Prize?

Explaining the ethos of the Nobel Peace Prize, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the five-member committee awarding the peace prize, said, "We take the complete picture into account. The whole organisation or the complete personality of that person matters, but what we first and foremost look at is what they have actually been achieving for the sake of peace." Elaborating on it further, Halvard Leira, the director of the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, said, 

A total of 338 individuals and organisations have been nominated for the peace prize this year. The Nobel committee's choices in recent years have demonstrated "a return to more micro things, somewhat closer to classical ideas of peace," with a focus on "human rights, democracy, freedom of the press, and women."