The Nobel Peace Prize may possibly be awarded to Donald Trump in 2021.
It may be hard from some to fathom that Donald Trump could soon be mentioned in the company of Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela. They have all won The Nobel Peace Prize — widely regarded as the most prestigious award given for intellectual achievement in the world.
History in the Making
If Trump wins the 2020 Presidential election, he would be the 4th sitting US President awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Other sitting presidents that have relished the honor are Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and Barack Obama in 2009.
However, if he is defeated in the 2020 election, he will be the third former president to receive the award. Trump would be listed with the likes of Jimmy Carter in 2002, and Vice President Al Gore in 2007, who received the coveted award after their terms in office ended.
Trump’s 2021 nomination was submitted by Christian Tybring-Gjedde. He nominated Trump for brokering the landmark normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Something Tybring-Gjedde called it a unique deal.
The UAE is only the third country to agree to official relations with Israel. Others are hoped to follow suit. Some Arab states have issued praise for the normalization agreement. However, the deal outraged the Palestinians who believe normalization with Israel will only come after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.
Saudi Arabia also said it will not normalize relations until Israel agrees to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, in keeping with the decades-old stance of most Arab nations.
The Nominator Christian Tybring-Gjedde
Tybring-Gjedde is a member of the Norwegian parliament and head of the Norwegian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He belongs to a conservative-leaning populist party and claims to not be a big Trump supporter.
In 2018, Tybring-Gjedde also submitted a nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his Singapore summit, which hosted North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. That year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.
In his 2021 nomination, Tybring-Gjedde praised Trump’s “key role in facilitating contact between conflicting parties… such as the Kashmir border dispute between India and Pakistan, and the conflict between North and South Korea.”
Although Tybring-Gjedde alleges he is not a big Trump supporter, he conveniently slams Trump’s arch-nemesis, former President Barack Obama. In reference to Trump, he said, “The committee should look at the facts and judge him on the facts – not on the way he behaves sometimes,” he continued, “The people who have received the Peace Prize in recent years have done much less than Donald Trump.
“For example, Barack Obama did nothing,” he told the cable news outlet, referring to the former US president’s Nobel Peace Prize win in 2009 for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Tybring-Gjedde further stated, “Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict. The last president to avoid doing so was Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter.”
Former President Obama was well aware of the discussion surrounding his receipt of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. He humbly addressed it during his acceptance speech by saying:
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who’ve received this prize—Schweitzer and King, Marshall and Mandela—my accomplishments are slight.
The Selection Process
If Trump wins the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, it will be 50 years before it will be confirmed who actually nominated and voted for Trump to win. The Committee cannot release the names of the nominators or the nominees until after 50 years. This is based upon their secrecy rule. However, a nominator can personally divulge who they nominated.
There were 318 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020, of which 211 were individuals and 107 were organizations.
It is a year-long process.
- in September, The Norwegian Nobel Committee prepares to receive nominations. The nominations must be received before the first day of February, the same year the award will be given. During February and March, The Committee assesses the candidates’ work and prepares a shortlist.
- March-August the advisers review the list. In October, the Nobel Laureates are announced. They are chosen through a majority vote which is final and without appeal.
- Yearly, on December 10, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates receive their Nobel Prize in Olson, Norway.
The Nobel Prize includes a Nobel Medal and Diploma, a document confirming the prize amount, and a life long resume booster.
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel was born in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm on Oct. 21, 1833. He came from humble beginnings and amassed great wealth. He is well known for inventing dynamite. At the time, he thought it was a peaceful invention. He said, “My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. As soon as men find that in one instant whole armies can be utterly destroyed, they surely will abide by golden peace.”
Later in life, it was evident his peaceful theory about dynamite was incorrect. It troubled him that he became wealthy as an arms dealer even though he considered himself honest and hardworking. When a paper erroneously published his obituary instead of his brothers, with a title that read, “The Merchant of Death is Dead,” he knew he had to make a positive contribution to the world.
Nobel decided to use his money to shape a better world. He left 94 percent of his massive wealth to fund the prestigious five annual Nobel prizes. The five categories are Physics, Chemistry, Peace, Physiology or Medicine and Literature which are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden.
Peace and Trump Not Synonymous
Trump has a long history of inciting violence. Many would say it is almost laughable to associate Trump with anything peaceful. Some infamous instances that have been perceived to encourage violence are as follows:
- “When the looting starts the shooting starts” — this tweet was made by Trump in regards to protests after the death of George Floyd that sparked national outrage. President Trump threatened military intervention. His language was viewed as insensitive to Black people due to the unjust violence they endured for years fighting for civil rights and equality.
- Twitter intervened with a warning label on both the original tweet and the White House account’s replication for violating its rule about “glorifying violence.”
- As a solution to people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019, Trump reportedly suggests shooting migrants crossing the border below the waist to slow them down.
- “I could shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” Trump made this statement in January 2016, at a campaign rally in Iowa.
Trump was sued in federal court for “incitement to riot” as a result of injuries sustained at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky in 2016. Eventually, in 2017 a three-panel judge dismissed the case.
There are a plethora of incidents involving Trump being viewed as an agitator and not a peacemaker. Even though the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded based upon a specific act or deed, it is hard to separate the person from the act. Trump’s character and integrity have been heavily on display since he began campaigning for president in 2016.
He has been scrutinized for his negative actions and comments toward women, minorities, and anyone who does not readily agree with him. He seems to live by the creed, that if you are not for him then you are against him — if you are against him watch out for reprisals.
It remains to be seen if this presumed nomination will help Trump in the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Whether one agrees with Trump receiving the Nobel Peace Prize award or not, it is a possibility. Due to The Committee’s secrecy rule — the world has to wait and see.
Written by Sheree Bynum
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
The Nobel Prize: Nomination and selection of Peace Prize Laureates
The Jerusalem Post: Donald Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize following Israel-UAE deal
Famous Scientists: Alfred Nobel
USA Today: Nobel Peace Prize: Some of the previous winners; Jane Onyanga-Omara
ThoughtCo.: How Many U.S. Presidents Have Won the Nobel Peace Prize?
The Times of Israel: Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for brokering Israel-UAE deal
The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2018
ABC News: A look back at Trump comments perceived by some as inciting violence; Libby Cathey and Meghan Keneally
Featured Image Courtesy of Matt A.J.’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of dcblog’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
