Trump Revives Criticism of Obama’s Nobel Prize Following Peace Prize snub
NEW YORK – Former President Donald Trump sharply criticized Barack Obama’s 2009 Nobel Peace Prize after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Trump, who had publicly suggested he deserved the award, claimed Obama received the honor for “absolutely nothing but destroying our country.”
Obama was awarded the prize eight months into his first term, a decision The New york Times characterized as “very premature” and argued required a “higher bar.” Trump, speaking to reporters and at the UN General Assembly in September, highlighted his own record, stating he had “stopped eight wars” and deserved recognition for “saving a lot of lives.” A September poll indicated only 22% of Americans believed Trump should win the prize, including less than half of Republicans.
The White House communications director,steven Cheung,asserted the Nobel Committee “place[d] politics over peace” with its decision. Cheung further stated that Trump “will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” and possesses “the heart of a humanitarian.”
Several Trump allies echoed the sentiment, with Katie Miller, wife of Trump advisor stephen Miller, pointing out that Obama received the award without having ended any wars, while Trump has ended eight. To date, only four U.S. presidents – teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Obama – have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
