Key Highlights:
- Donald Trump has called Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize a “prize for doing nothing.”
- Trump has accused Obama of “destroying our country.”
- Trump has touted his success in brokering peace in Gaza and ending eight wars.
- Many believe he made the comment out of a desire for the Nobel Prize.
- The New York Times was surprised when Obama won the prize in 2009, just eight months apart.
- Trump said he worked “to save lives” rather than for the prize.
- Trump claims he did not try to influence the Nobel committee, but rather for peace.
Trump slams Obama’s Nobel Prize as ‘a prize for doing nothing’
US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized his predecessor Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize win. He said, he received this award “for doing nothing.” Trump also complained that he had “destroyed our country.”
Read more: Gaza’s Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Trump’s anger over Obama’s Nobel Prize
Many believe that Trump’s comments are based on a deep desire for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He said a few hours before the award was announced,
“Obama won the Nobel Prize within months of taking office. He got it for doing nothing.”
Trump said,
“Obama himself didn’t know why he was being given the prize. He was just elected, and they gave him the prize for doing nothing. He did nothing but destroy the country.”
The controversial 2009 award
When Obama received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, only eight months into his first term. Many were surprised by the incident. Even the liberal newspaper The New York Times commented that the recognition was “very immature” and said,
“The standard of the Nobel should be higher.”
Trump’s peace efforts and self-praise
After the historic US-brokered peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Trump said,
“They gave Obama the prize for nothing but destroying our country.”
He added,
“I stopped eight wars, which has never happened before. But they (the Nobel Committee) will do whatever they have to do. I know this, I didn’t do it for the prize. I did it because I saved so many lives.”
Nobel Prize announcement and Trump’s efforts
The Nobel Peace Prize is being announced in Oslo, Norway, on Friday. Since returning to the Oval Office in January, Trump has been accused of trying to influence the Norwegian Peace Research Institute in Oslo. This institution helps the Nobel Committee review candidates.
International reaction and criticism
Trump has been taking credit for his role in various incidents, often exaggerating it.
In a speech to the United Nations last month, he almost made himself eligible for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He claims to have stopped “seven impossible wars.”
But while some of his efforts have been successful, many countries question how effective his role has been in the conflicts he claims to have ended.
Source: DBC
