A Master Peacemaker With A Proxy Nobel Peace Prize: Trump And His Claims of Ending Wars

Donald Trump might be a two-time president of one of the most powerful countries in the world, but there is one feather missing from his cap — and it is one that appears to trouble him deeply.

It is no secret that Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he has expressed his desire — or rather a compulsive need — to receive the award. 

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be,” he wrote on Truth Social last year. “But the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” 

He has claimed that his administration has ended eight wars in the first ten months of his presidency, which analysts have said is an exaggeration as some of these “war” claims were simply an escalation or diplomatic disagreement. 

Before the Peace Prize announcement last year, Trump said at the White House, "I have no idea... Marco would tell you we settled seven wars. We're close to settling an eighth. I think we'll end up settling the Russia situation... I don't think anybody in history has settled that many. But perhaps they'll find a reason not to."

Despite being nominated by US lawmakers and political leaders from around the world, Trump has continued to fall short in the eyes of the Nobel committee.

However, January 16 dawned and brought for Trump little respite (somewhat).

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has given her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House. 

"I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado later told journalists, calling it "a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom".

The move is particularly interesting when viewed against the backdrop of the United States abducting former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and putting Delcy Rodriguez as acting president of Venezuela.

In the photograph released on Friday by the White House, Trump is seen holding the Nobel Peace Prize, beaming from ear to ear. 

Trump said on social media that the move was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.

However, the Nobel committee made it clear that the prize itself could not be transferred.

It is not with his second presidency that his need for a Nobel Peace Prize began. So, just how many times has he been nominated for the prize, and has not received it?

A Prize That Was Not To Be:

The Nobel Committee does not confirm the names of nominees, neither to the media nor to the candidates themselves. However, according to media reports and public information, Trump has been nominated for the Peace Prize at least a dozen times.

2018: 

One of Donald Trump's earliest nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize came soon after he took office in his first term. Two Norwegian lawmakers nominated him in recognition of his efforts to promote denuclearisation between the United States and North Korea, as reported by The Hill.

That same year, 18 House Republicans also nominated the president for the award, citing his push to curb North Korea’s nuclear programme.

“Since taking office, President Trump has worked tirelessly to apply maximum pressure on North Korea to end its illicit weapons program and bring peace to the region,” a letter by the lawmakers said, according to The Hill.

2020

Two years later, during his presidency, Trump received multiple nominations. Norwegian politician Christian Tybring-Gjedde nominated him for his peace efforts in the Middle East, according to the Associated Press. 

Swedish lawmaker Magnus Jacobsson made a similar nomination for the same reason, which prompted a phone call from the president expressing his gratitude, as noted by the outlet.

Second Term Presidency:

In October, 2025, Trump claimed that he "ended 8 wars in just 8 months" in a social media post with the title "the president of peace", including the two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

Another claim includes the 12-day war between Israel and Iran; that ended with the United States bombing three Iranian nuclear sites on June 22. 

On July 7, citing Trump’s role in ‘forging peace’, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying that the honour was  “well-deserved”. Even though Trump had announced that the 12-day war has come to an end, no peace agreement or concrete deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme has been reached, and Iran and Israel have continued to trade threats since then.

Pakistan and India: After four days of strikes, Trump posted that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE".

Although India has repeatedly said that the conversation for a ceasefire was “held directly between India and Pakistan”, Trump has claimed that he brokered the ceasefire between the two countries after the military escalation in May last year. 

Pakistan, however, did nominate Trump for the Peace Prize in June, citing his "decisive diplomatic intervention".

Thailand and Cambodia: The long-running territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand escalated into a direct armed confrontation along their shared border on July 24, 2025.

On 26 July, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was contacting Thailand’s acting prime minister to press for an end to the hostilities. A few days on, the two countries agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”

On August 7, the two countries reached a further agreement designed to ease tensions along their shared border. Cambodia later nominated the US President for the prize for his “visionary and innovative diplomacy.” In a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Thursday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he wished to nominate Trump “in recognition of his historic contributions in advancing world peace”. However, the conflict over the contested border remains unresolved.

Armenia and Azerbaijan: Trump is credited with hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House in August last year, where they formally concluded a peace agreement that had been announced around five months earlier, CNN reported.

The two former Soviet republics had been embroiled in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh for nearly four decades. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev both praised Trump’s role in facilitating the signing of the deal.

Following the announcement at the White House on August 8, the leaders of both countries said Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in securing the agreement.

Earlier, in March, the two governments had indicated they were prepared to bring an end to their almost 40-year conflict centred on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Other escalations that Trump claimed to have “ended” include: Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.

Additionally, US Representative Anna Paulina Luna formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, citing his “bold and unprecedented leadership in advancing peace around the globe”.

In a letter sent to the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Luna highlighted Trump’s role in facilitating a historic ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, describing it as a major diplomatic breakthrough achieved through direct engagement with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

However, these nominations came after the January 31 deadline for the Nobel Peace Prize submission. More names can be added during the final meeting of the members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which this year was held on February 28. 

In the past, four U.S. presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919), Jimmy Carter (2002), and Barack Obama (2009).

All were awarded the prize while in office, except Carter, who received it retrospectively for mediating the 1978 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.