Just two days before the Nobel Prize Committee is set to announce the prestigious winner of the Peace Prize, US President Donald Trump rushed to unveil the Israel-Hamas peace deal, which will allow the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza and some Palestinian prisoners, along with the Israeli withdrawal to an agreed point.
The much-awaited peace deal is a monumental decision that was welcomed by both sides, though with cautious optimism. But, Trump didn’t waste time trying to brandish it as his own efforts, emphasising his self-proclaimed “peacemaker” image.
This has raised questions about whether it will earn Trump the coveted Nobel Prize. However, his role in Gaza peace talks is unlikely to impact this year’s award prospects.”
According to the Nobel Prize Committee’s norms, nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize are only valid if submitted by 11:59 p.m. CET (Central European Time) on January 31st each year. Any nomination that comes after is generally excluded from that year’s review process and typically deferred to the following year’s evaluation.
For the same reason, the diplomatic mediation efforts President Donald Trump has achieved since his inauguration on January 20th of this year—or the dramatic Gaza agreement reached just before the Nobel announcement on October 8th—are unlikely to be included in the official 2025 Nobel Peace Prize evaluation.
That said, even Trump critics believe his efforts to end the Gaza war could work in his favour. The US President’s earlier efforts, wherein he boasted of having ended seven conflicts, including the India-Pakistan conflict, have been met with mockery, including from the Indian side.
Trump’s Nobel ambitions
That said, Trump wasted no time in announcing to the world about the deal. Though it was his Truth Social post that first told the world about the deal, reporters caught a whiff of it at the roundtable event at the White House. Trump was attending the event when Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave him a hastily handwritten note.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was talking when Rubio handed Trump the note. After looking at the note, Trump called Rubio over, who was seen whispering something in the President’s ear. The content of the note was revealed later: “We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce the deal first.”
Trump told the assembled media, “OK, I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying, ‘we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East’ and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly.”
Trump’s lobbying for the big prize has even caught the attention of Asle Toje, deputy leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, who said, “Some candidates were pushing for it really hard”. “We do not like it. We are used to work in a locked room without being attempted to be influenced. It is hard enough as it is to reach an agreement among ourselves, without having more people trying to influence us,” Toje told Reuters.
Experts believe Trump’s track record isn’t compatible with the principles of the Nobel Peace Prize. “No, it will not be Trump this year,” Peter Wallensteen, a Swedish professor of international affairs, told AFP. He added that the impact of Trump’s initiatives, including his Gaza proposal, remains highly contested.