Will Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize? Experts weigh in on his chances
Stavanger: US President Donald Trump's bid for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has sparked renewed debate about his chances of joining the Nobel laureates club. Despite multiple high-profile nominations over recent years, experts say Trump's odds remain slim due to the award's traditional focus on sustainable peace, international cooperation, and quiet diplomacy rather than headline-grabbing interventions.
Trump has been nominated by various figures, including US Representative Claudia Tenney, for brokering the Abraham Accords, and received endorsements from international leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pakistan's government. However, nominations submitted after the February 1 deadline for 2025 are ineligible, and many of these came post-deadline. Trump has claimed credit for resolving multiple conflicts worldwide and promoting peace initiatives, including a recent 20-point peace plan that led Israel and Hamas to agree on a ceasefire phase in Gaza.
Despite these efforts, experts and Nobel veterans argue that the Norwegian Nobel Committee prioritises lasting peacebuilding and multilateral diplomacy over short-term or unilateral achievements. Trump’s scepticism toward multilateral institutions, disregard for global climate change — regarded by some as central to lasting peace — and his often polarising rhetoric reportedly work against him. Furthermore, the committee tends to avoid awarding figures who appear to lobby publicly or actively campaign, as seen in previous controversies such as the 2009 prize awarded to Barack Obama early in his term, which faced criticism.
Trump himself remains publicly optimistic yet sceptical about winning, noting that the committee "will find a reason not to give it to me." His persistent claims that he "deserves" the prize underscore his ongoing desire for the Nobel spotlight but contrast with the quiet and reflective criteria typically favoured by the committee.
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize announcement is scheduled for October in Oslo, amid increased global attention on efforts to resolve the Gaza conflict and other diplomatic developments. While Trump remains a high-profile nominee, the prevailing view is that sustained peace efforts and endorsement of global cooperation will weigh most heavily in the final decision.
With inputs from PTI