KEY POINTS
- White House official Steven Cheung praised Trump as a ‘humanitarian’ and said ‘there will never be anyone like him’
- MAGA influencers and conservative figures expressed outrage online, calling the Nobel ‘a joke’
- The Nobel nominations closed in January 2025, just days after Trump’s second term began.
The White House has lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee after President Donald Trump failed to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize despite his repeated claims that he ‘deserved it’ for brokering a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Instead, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who vanished and went into hiding in August 2024, weeks after her disputed election loss.
Her recognition for promoting democracy in Venezuela immediately drew praise from world leaders but triggered anger and disbelief from Trump’s camp and his most ardent supporters.
White House slams ‘politics over peace’
The White House Director of Communications, Steven Cheung, issued a strongly worded statement, accusing the Nobel Committee of prioritising politics over genuine humanitarian work.
‘President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,’ Cheung said. ‘He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will. The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.’
The statement reflects the long-standing tension between Trump’s administration and international institutions.
In his first term, Trump frequently portrayed global organisations as biased or hostile towards him, framing his leadership as a challenge to what he called ‘the globalist establishment’.
Trump’s Public Campaign For The Nobel
Ahead of Friday’s announcement, Trump actively campaigned for the award, telling supporters that ‘everyone says I should get it’. He claimed, without evidence, that he had ‘ended seven wars’, referring to his administration’s negotiation of temporary ceasefires and troop withdrawals.
The Nobel Committee, however, brushed off such lobbying. In a press briefing, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, one of the committee’s five members, said campaigns and media pressure were ‘nothing new’.
‘In the long history of the Nobel Peace Prize, we’ve experienced all kinds of media tension,’ Frydnes told reporters. ‘We receive thousands of letters each year from people explaining what, for them, leads to peace. But our decision is always based only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.’
The committee’s calm response contrasted sharply with the uproar on social media among Trump supporters and right-wing commentators.
MAGA Backlash And Outrage Online
Within hours of the announcement, MAGA-aligned influencers and conservative figures flooded social media platforms with outrage.
‘No one is surprised the globalists would snub our President,’ wrote podcaster Jack Posobiec, echoing a common sentiment that the Nobel Committee deliberately overlooked Trump for ideological reasons.
‘The Nobel is a joke and is below Trump. It is beneath his dignity and stature,’ tweeted Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist.
Republican congressman Richard Hudson of North Carolina went further, posting an AI-generated image of himself handing a fake Nobel medal to Trump. ‘Peace in the Middle East has eluded presidents for decades. It’s a disgrace President Trump didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize for all he has done for peace in the region. Since the committee didn’t do it, I will!’ Hudson wrote on X.
Trump’s supporters highlighted the Israel-Hamas ceasefire as evidence of his diplomatic prowess, although the Norwegian Nobel Committee likely finalised its decision months earlier, before the truce was announced.
Timing And Technicalities
The Nobel Peace Prize nominations closed in January 2025, just days after Trump began his second term as president. That timeline means any subsequent developments, including his role in the Middle East ceasefire, could not have influenced this year’s deliberations.
Historically, only four US presidents — Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama — have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump has long compared himself to Obama, suggesting the former Democratic leader’s 2009 win was undeserved.
‘If I were Barack Obama, I’d have a Nobel in ten seconds,’ Trump once quipped.
MAGA loyalists have continued to frame the Nobel as symbolic of the establishment’s bias. To them, Trump’s absence from its list of laureates fits a narrative of systemic exclusion and international hypocrisy.
‘A Reflection Of Our Time’
Political analysts have noted that the reaction underscores Trump’s enduring influence over his base and his ability to dominate international discourse, even when sidelined.
‘The outrage is less about the Nobel itself and more about what it represents,’ said a Washington-based political strategist. ‘For Trump’s supporters, this was a chance for validation on a global stage. Losing it reinforces their belief that the system is rigged.’
As for the Nobel Committee, Frydnes’ closing remarks seemed to offer a subtle reminder that history, not public pressure, will ultimately judge its decisions.
‘We’ve seen many kinds of campaigns,’ he said. ‘But the Peace Prize has always been, and will remain, about lasting work, not noise.’
Originally published on IBTimes UK
