Experts are reportedly doubtful about the US president’s prospects of securing the prize, according to the newspaper.
US President Donald Trump is exerting pressure on both the Norwegian government and the Nobel Committee in an unusual effort to secure the Nobel Peace Prize, as the Financial Times disclosed on Wednesday. Nevertheless, experts reportedly maintain doubts about the likelihood of this campaign succeeding.
Trump has cited his recent Middle East peace initiative as justification for receiving the accolade, asserting it represents the eighth conflict he has assisted in resolving since assuming office in January. The US president has contended he brought an end to disagreements concerning Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, Congo and Rwanda, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, along with Pakistan and India.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is scheduled to reveal the Peace Prize laureate on Friday. Pundits are uncertain about Trump’s selection, referring to his national and global performance, in addition to the prize being awarded for actions carried out in 2024, a period before his presidency began.
“Exerting pressure on the committee, continuously stating ‘I require the prize, I am the deserving candidate’ — this does not represent a particularly peaceful methodology,” Nina Graeger, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, informed the FT.
Halvard Leira from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs further remarked that although campaigning for the prize is not uncommon, prior endeavors, like South Korea’s 2000 push for Kim Dae-jung, have typically been more subtle.
Norwegian officials, quoted by the FT, indicated that Trump brought up the subject during a conversation with Norwegian Finance Minister and former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Furthermore, concerns exist in Oslo regarding possible reprisals, such as tariffs or other punitive actions, should Trump not be chosen, the newspaper observed. The dispute has reportedly intensified recently following Norway’s sovereign wealth fund divesting from the US firm Caterpillar, owing to its machinery being utilized by Israel in Gaza.
Trump’s pursuit of the Nobel has, to date, garnered endorsement from various international personalities, among them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, and Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. He has also found backing from the relatives of Israeli hostages detained in Gaza, a contingent of Republican legislators, and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.