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No Nobel for Trump: White House Cries Foul as Prize Goes Elsewhere

WASHINGTON/OSLO – The Nobel Peace Prize announcement sent a diplomatic chill through Washington on Friday. The honor, long speculated to go to U.S. President Donald Trump for his self-proclaimed “unprecedented peace deals,” instead went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, 58. The White House did not take the snub lightly.

“President Trump will continue to make peace agreements, end wars, and save lives,” wrote White House Communications Director Steven Cheung on X shortly after the announcement. “He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be another like him who can move mountains with sheer willpower.” His message, however, quickly turned barbed, accusing the Nobel Committee of “putting politics above peace.”

It’s no secret that President Trump had been confident—some might say certain—that his record of conflict resolution would finally bring the world’s most coveted peace medal to his collection. At the United Nations General Assembly last month, he reminded delegates that he had “ended seven wars in seven months,” adding that “everyone says I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for every single one of these achievements.” He later claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, though that deal came only two days after the Nobel Committee had already finalized its decision.

Even some world leaders joined the chorus of support. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media with a tongue-in-cheek AI image showing himself handing the Peace Prize to Trump, captioned with the plea: “Give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize – he deserves it!”

Whether Trump was ever formally nominated remains uncertain. The deadline for this year’s nominations closed on January 31—barely ten days after his inauguration. But if the White House’s reaction is any indication, losing out on the prize may have stung almost as much as winning it might have pleased him.

For now, the gold medal will head to Caracas, not Washington—and the debate over whether peace or politics prevailed will rage on, Nobel or no Nobel.