Mumbai: The Nobel Committee has heard the noise. They’ve seen the headlines. They know Trump wants that Peace Prize so badly he keeps declaring he “deserves it.” But in Oslo, they don’t care.
Trump’s case for the crown
The 79-year-old billionaire president hasn’t been shy. He says he “ended six wars” and wants credit. He claims he’ll solve Gaza and Ukraine, conflicts that, inconveniently, are still raging. He points to endorsements from foreign leaders like Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev.
But here’s the catch: Nobel nominations had to be filed by January 31, just eleven days after Trump returned to the White House this January. Unless his allies owned a time machine, those endorsements came way too late for 2025.
And even if they had been on time? As Kristian Berg Harpviken, secretary of the Nobel Committee, put it bluntly: “To be nominated is not necessarily a great achievement. The great achievement is to become a laureate.”
Translation: anyone can nominate you. Winning is a different league.
Who gets to nominate? Practically everyone
Members of parliament worldwide. Cabinet ministers. University professors. Former laureates. Thousands, even tens of thousands of people can throw a name into the hat. That’s how the 2025 longlist hit 338 names, individuals and organisations.
The list is locked in a vault for 50 years. What matters is the shortlist, hand-picked by the committee, then dissected by experts.
The committee doesn’t scroll Twitter. It doesn’t care about campaign rallies. “When the committee discusses, it’s that knowledge base that frames the discussion. It’s not whatever media report has received the most attention in the last 24 hours,” Harpviken told AFP.
Media campaigns? Dead on arrival
Every year, the committee faces PR campaigns. And every year, they swear to ignore them. Harpviken insists the structure of the meetings is designed to block out noise. Translation: all the shouting in Washington won’t change a vote in Oslo.
That independence isn’t just a slogan. In 2010, the committee awarded the Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, defying Norway’s own government and setting off years of frozen relations with Beijing. If they didn’t cave to China, they’re not losing sleep over Trump’s wish list.
The awkward phone call
Trump’s determination is legendary. In July, during a phone call with Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg (yes, the former NATO chief), Trump apparently raised the Peace Prize. The call was supposed to be about tariffs. Instead, it veered into “so, about that Nobel…” territory.
The finance ministry confirmed the call happened. They just won’t say if the Nobel came up, which tells you everything.
History doesn’t bend to pressure
This is where Trump’s bid runs into reality. Norway has a long tradition of defending multilateralism, the exact opposite of Trump’s “America First” mantra. Nobel historians, writing in an op-ed last month, shredded Trump’s chances further: admiration for Vladimir Putin, a war still burning in Ukraine, and an obsession with self-promotion that undermines the idea of peace. Their verdict: “The members of the Nobel Committee would have to have lost their minds.”
October 10: the verdict day
The Nobel Committee will announce its 2025 laureate on October 10. No leaks, no teasers, no hints. Just one name.
And here’s the thing: past winners prove the committee doesn’t play politics the way Trump expects. Barack Obama won in 2009, barely nine months into his first term, to global surprise. In 2010, Liu Xiaobo got the nod despite furious opposition from Beijing. Trump’s belief that sheer pressure or endorsements can tilt Oslo? Miscalculated.
India angle: why this matters here
India watches Nobel politics closely. The Peace Prize has often reflected international shifts, from Malala Yousafzai’s win to Kailash Satyarthi’s recognition. For Delhi, the takeaway is simple: Nobel legitimacy comes from independence, not lobbying. If Trump’s campaign fizzles, it only reinforces the value of staying above political noise.
What happens if Trump doesn’t win?
Nothing changes in Oslo. But in Washington? Expect another round of grievances about how the system is “rigged.” Trump has already built a brand on claiming victimhood when institutions push back. A denied Peace Prize will fit neatly into that narrative.
For the Nobel Committee, though, the prize isn’t about political theatre. It’s about honouring those who actually move peace forward, even when it upsets governments.
And right now, Trump is not that guy.
