Donald Trump pines for a Nobel: What are his chances, and how much is the prize money?
As the Norwegian Nobel Committee prepares to announce the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, speculation is swirling around one name – US President Donald Trump. The president has made no secret of his desire to win, even as experts say his chances remain slim.
US President Donald Trump(AP)
The Norwegian Nobel Committee will reveal the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, an honor known both for its prestige and its unpredictability.
Experts cited by the Associated Press say the committee typically recognizes efforts that promote the durability of peace, international fraternity, and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.
For the prize, each laureate receives a gold medal, a diploma and a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million), funded by the Nobel Foundation, which manages Alfred Nobel’s endowment. Follow Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Live Updates
Persistent speculation over Trump’s nomination has been fueled largely by the US president himself, who has repeatedly claimed credit for several international peace efforts and urged recognition from Oslo.
Trump’s campaign for the Nobel intensified following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a possible peace deal in the region. However, Gaza breakthrough came too late to be considered for this year’s prize.
What are Trump’s chances
Experts in Oslo have dismissed the possibility of Trump winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, saying his recent involvement in the Gaza ceasefire will not influence the outcome.
The Gaza deal “has absolutely no significance” for the choice of the 2025 laureate because “the Nobel Committee has already made its decision,” historian and Peace Prize expert Asle Sveen told AFP.
“Trump will not win the prize this year. I’m 100 percent certain,” he said.
Sveen added that Trump has long given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “free rein” to bomb Gaza and provided the Israeli army with significant military aid.
In Oslo, several experts agree Trump’s chances are nonexistent, pointing out that his “America First” approach contradicts the principles of peace and international fraternity outlined in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will establishing the award.
Trump’s extensive campaign for recognition
Trump’s son Eric joined father’s efforts with a post on ‘X’, he urged users to “retweet if you believe @realDonaldTrump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.” Around the same time, the White House official account also posted a photo of Trump with the caption, “The Peace President.
Later in the day, while speaking alongside Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb at the Oval Office, Trump once again touted his diplomatic track record, citing what he called his “unmatched record in peacemaking.”
The ‘Peace President’ record
Trump has claimed personal credit for mediating or helping ease tensions in a range of global conflicts, including between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, Israel, Iran and the Palestinian territories, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
On India and Pakistan, Trump said after a May ceasefire that he used the threat of trade restrictions to bring both countries to the table. India, however, publicly disputed the claim, saying the ceasefire was not a result of US pressure or mediation.On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump, who had said during the 2024 election campaign that he could “solve the war in one day” – has so far been unable to broker peace.
Last year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have long campaigned to maintain the global taboo on nuclear weapons.
The Peace Prize is the only Nobel award announced in Oslo, while the other prizes – for medicine, physics, chemistry and literature – have already been presented in Stockholm this week.
The final award, for economics, will be announced on Monday, marking the close of this year’s Nobel season.
