Donald Trump has been accused of ‘begging’ for a Nobel Peace Prize after he reportedly called Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg ‘out of the blue’ to discuss the award
Trump reportedly called Norway’s finance minister to discuss the Nobel Peace Prize ahead of his meeting with Putin(Image: Getty Images)
Donald Trump has been branded “pathetic” after allegedly making a “desperate” cold-call in hopes of securing himself a Nobel Peace Prize.
The US president reportedly called Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg “out of the blue” last month to discuss trade tariffs, as well as his bid to win the prestigious award. The finance minister had been walking down the street in Norway’s capital when he received the sudden call from the White House, Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reports.
It wasn’t the first time Trump has brought up the Nobel Peace Prize during discussions with Stoltenberg, according to the outlet. It comes as Trump shrugs off responsibility for failed Putin breakthrough and says ceasefire is ‘up to Zelensky’.
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Norway’s Minister of Finance and former Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg reportedly received an ‘out of the blue’ phone call from Trump(Image: Redferns)
“It is true that President Trump called me a few days before his conversation with Prime Minister Støre. Several of the president’s staff members also participated in the conversation, including Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Greer,” Stoltenberg, the former NATO secretary-general, confirmed to POLITICO.
“We discussed tariffs, economic cooperation, and it served as preparation for his call with Prime Minister Støre. I will not go into further detail about the content of the conversation,” he added. But Trump did also speak about the award, a government official in Oslo said.
The 19th-century Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel instructed that the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to the person “who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
The selection of eligible candidates and the choice of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates is carried out by The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is composed of five members appointed by the Storting (Norwegian parliament).
While the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the prize in economic sciences are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway. Nobel Prize laureates are chosen at the beginning of October.
Trump failed to get Putin to agree to a peace deal on Friday(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
During his second term, Trump has sought to establish himself as a “peacemaker” president. The president has claimed he has ended or prevented six major wars since taking office in January, including taking credit for cooling tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan earlier this year.
He has already been nominated by several countries, including Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia, for brokering peace deals or ceasefires. His high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday was set to offer Trump a vital moment to further prove his peace-making credentials.
But despite his pledge to put an end to the war in Ukraine on day one of his presidency, Trump came away from the meeting without a ceasefire. Reacting to reports of Trump’s call to Stoltenberg on X, critics accused the president of “begging” for the Nobel Peace Prize, calling him “embarrassing”.
One wrote: “Pathetic. Can he win anything without cheating?” A second said: “Never in the history of the Peace Prize, has anyone begged for the prize. We are being ridiculed by the rest of the world.”
“Trump’s next move will be cold-calling the Pope to lobby for sainthood,” another said. If Trump were to win, he would be the fifth president to receive the award, following Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.
Some speculated Trump is jealous of Obama(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Some speculated Trump has grown increasingly jealous of his longtime rival Obama’s achievement. “It’s the only thing Obama has that he does not. It pains him so much,” one wrote.
Others called out Trump for asking Norwegian officials for a Nobel Peace Prize while threatening tariffs on the country. Trump announced a 15% tariff on Norwegian imports last month.
“How embarrassing it must be for Americans to see their President begging or blackmailing countries for Nobel Peace Prize,” one wrote. A second echoed: “If this is true, it’s peak Trump: demanding a Nobel like it’s room service, then threatening tariffs if they say no. Classic strongman diplomacy. Source or satire? Either way, hilarious.”
During a February meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump complained: “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize.”
He added: “It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.” In a press briefing last month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also claimed it’s “well past time” that Trump wins the prize.