Norwegian Nobel Committee Chariman explains why Trump's scorched Earth demands were not met

[Miles Archer]

Jørgen Watne Frydnes (chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee) defended the committee’s choice to give the 2025 prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado over Trump, who had pushed for the award for himself.

“During the past months, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and he’d like to have it. He even said it would be an insult to the United States if he doesn’t get it,” a reporter said to Frydnes at the announcement ceremony in Oslo.

“What [do you], as chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, think of this? And how has this campaign-like activity by the president and his supporters, domestically and internationally, affected the deliberation and thinking in the committee?”

Frydnes responded: “In the long history of the Nobel Peace Prize, I think this committee has seen many types of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what, for them, leads to peace.”

He added: “This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/nobel-head-shades-donald-trump-for-peace-prize-derangement-syndrome/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Nobel committee chair: We only give the award to people of courage and integrity.

Link to tweet

[Heidi]

2. Kick, kick, kick!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. This made me smile

[Heidi]

11. I treasure your DU presence!

[ananda]

3. Maybe Trump thouught it was covfefe and intergy.

!@#$%

[Celerity]

6. He never said that in that video.

Here is the original tweet, the one referenced in your reply:

Link to tweet

Same video, and again the Nobel official never stated what the X-tweeters claim.

[peggysue2]

4. He could have edited this statement

We do not award the Nobel Peace Prize to pigs or wanna-be dictators.

Fixed it!

[beaglelover]

5. Sad trombone noise for tRump! LOVE IT!!!

[3catwoman3]

7. The chairman was more than ready for that question...

...and gave a flawless answer. Well done, sir!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. MaddowBlog-The top 10 things Trump should consider doing if he wants a Nobel Peace Prize next year

The president begged for the honor but didn’t get it. If he wants to try again next year, there are a variety of steps he can and should take.

Trump obviously didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize he spent months begging for — but there’s always next year.

To be helpful, I put together a Top 10 list of steps he should take (but almost certainly won’t) if wants to compete for the 2026 honor. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-10T20:18:06.128Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/nobel-peace-prize-trump-top-10-things-consider-rcna236951

That said, Trump is only in the first year of his second term, and there’s no reason he can’t start a new campaign for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. If he’s serious about the goal, however, I have some tips the president might want to consider.

1. Abandon authoritarianism: The committee’s members have traditionally looked favorably on those who support democracy over authoritarianism, so if Trump were to abandon his anti-democratic agenda, it would almost certainly improve his odds.

2. Stop extrajudicial killings: Using the military to execute deadly strikes against civilian boats in international waters tends to be frowned upon by those who choose the Nobel Peace Prize.

3. Stop threatening Venezuela: Trump’s recent saber-rattling toward Caracas didn’t exactly scream “peacemaker.”

4. Stop trying to annex countries that don’t belong to the United States: Over the course of the year, the president has expressed unnerving interest in acquiring Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip. When authoritarian leaders start talking about annexing foreign countries and properties for no reason, it tends to get the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s attention, and not in a good way.

5. Stop praising and aligning the White House with dictatorial regimes: The more Trump cozies up to foreign tyrants and despots, the less he looks like a Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

6. Stop lying: It’s unrealistic to think the Republican will turn over a new leaf regarding the importance of honesty, but the Norwegian Nobel Committee knows full well that the American president didn’t resolve eight wars in nine months, so there’s little value to him pretending otherwise.

7. Stop militarizing American cities: No one has ever won a Nobel Peace Prize after sending armed troops into his or her own country’s civilian streets without a good reason. (While he’s at it, dropping the “Department of War” nonsense might help, too.)

8. Stop the trade war: Trump is destabilizing economies, disrupting markets, hurting farmers and shifting alliances. Undoing what he has done on trade would very likely impress the Norwegian panelists.

9. Reverse course on USAID: Trump’s cuts to the program have been deadly and brutal. Restoring the United States’ role as the pre-eminent global leader on foreign aid would dramatically improve Trump’s odds of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. (Conversely, his decision to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development made him a pariah in many parts of the world.)

10. Stop begging: Honestly, it’s unseemly to see the chief executive of a global superpower pleading in pitiful ways for an award. It’s likely the Norwegian Nobel Committee doesn’t want to be seen as caving to pressure, so Trump’s chances would likely be better if he just shut up about it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. This made me smile