Israel Archives

The Nobel Peace Prize committee announced today that Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan peace activist, has won the controversial prize -- not President Donald Trump, who has ended eight wars in nine months. Without any participation of the useless, Jew-hating United Nations, I might add. Joergen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said about Machado, "She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy." In fact, Trump was never going to win this "ignoble prize." Why not? The committee members, by and large, hate Donald Trump. The Nobel Peace Prize, according to NobelPrize.org, is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. The committee is a five-member body appointed by Norway's Stortinget (parliament). Members are former politicians or public figures but not active parliamentarians or government officials. They serve six-year terms and can be reelected. The committee is assisted by a nonvoting secretary, who is the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Did Maria Corina Machado, a very brave woman to challenge ruthless dictator Nicolas Maduro, fulfill the prize's objectives? In my opinion, promoting and struggling aren't tantamount to ending eight wars in nine months. In my 2019 Newsmax column, "The Artificial Inflation of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez," I compared AOC's false accolades to those of newly inaugurated Barack Obama, who had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, based on zero accomplishments -- for melanin, not merit: Days after becoming president in 2009, Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize. Most thinking people wondered why. After all, Obama hadn’t earned it, and he went on to initiate and/or inflate conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. The ex-secretary of the Nobel committee that awarded Obama the prize, Geir Lundestad, expressed regret in his memoir, Secretary of Peace: “No Nobel Peace Prize ever elicited more attention than the 2009 prize to Barack Obama. Even many of Obama’s supporters believed that the prize was a mistake. In that sense, the committee didn’t achieve what it had hoped for.” What goes around, comes around, I suppose. President Donald Trump, according to Google AI, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by at least 12 different people or groups. The exact number is not publicly available, as the Norwegian Nobel Committee keeps the full list of nominees secret for 50 years: Abraham Accords: For brokering normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, in 2020.- Nominated by: Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Claudia Tenney (New York), Darrell Issa (California), and Anna Paulina Luna (Florida). Tenney's 2025 nomination also included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Israeli-Iranian ceasefire: For negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in June 2025.- Nominated by: Republican Rep. Buddy Carter (Georgia). Middle East peace: For his broader efforts in the Middle East.- Nominated by: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July 2025. Pakistan-India crisis: For his diplomatic intervention during a crisis between Pakistan and India in 2025.- Nominated by: The government of Pakistan. Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement: For brokering a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.- Nominated by: The governments of both nations in 2025. Congo-Rwanda peace deal: For his role in the agreement reached in June 2025.- Nominated by: Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Florida). Ukraine-Russia peace efforts: For his peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.- Nominated by: A senior Ukrainian politician, Oleksandr Merezhko, who later withdrew the nomination. North Korea nuclear program: For his diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and denuclearize North Korea.- Nominated by: Norwegian and Republican U.S. lawmakers in 2018. Who are the Nobel Peace Prize committee members? Jørgen Watne Frydnes (Chair; born 1984; appointed 2021): Former head of the Red Cross in Norway and a peace activist; represents the Centre Party. Asle Toje (Vice Chair; born 1974; appointed 2018): Foreign policy expert and former research director at the Norwegian Nobel Institute; represents the Progress Party. Anne Enger (born 1949; appointed 2020): Former leader of the Centre Party and county governor; represents the Centre Party. Gry Larsen (born 1975; appointed 2022): Former Labour Party parliamentarian and state secretary; represents the Labour Party. Kristin Clemet (born 1957; appointed 2018): Former Conservative Party minister of education and research; represents the Conservative Party. Kristian Berg Harpviken (born 1961; appointed 2025) serves as the nonvoting secretary. He is a sociologist, former director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, and current director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. I then asked Grok a logical question: Have any of the aforementioned committee members publicly disparaged Donald Trump? Grok gleaned its response from multiple sources across the entire Internet: Jørgen Watne Frydnes (Chair)Frydnes, a human rights advocate and head of PEN Norway, has directly criticized Trump for eroding freedom of expression. In a December 2024 speech to PEN Norway, he named Trump while decrying "the erosion of freedom of expression even in democratic nations," stating: "President Donald Trump launched more than 100 verbal attacks on the media during his election campaign." He has also implied Trump's Nobel aspirations are controversial due to his use of power, noting in a January 2025 interview that awarding a head of state like Trump "often blood on hands if it’s a conflict." Frydnes has further dismissed public lobbying for the prize (implicitly referencing Trump's efforts) as unhelpful. Asle Toje (Vice Chair)Toje, a foreign policy expert, has indirectly disparaged Trump's aggressive self-promotion for the Nobel Prize, stating in a September 2025 Reuters interview that such "influence campaigns" have a "negative effect" and that the committee "do not like it" when candidates "push for it really hard. He has also analyzed Trump's MAGA movement critically, calling Steve Bannon (a key Trump ally) a "fascist" in an April 2025 interview. While Toje has occasionally written sympathetically about Trump's legal challenges, his overall commentary portrays Trump's tactics as counterproductive to peace efforts.Anne EngerEnger, a former Centre Party leader and acting Prime Minister, has not made direct public statements disparaging Trump. Reports describe her as "tight-lipped" on the topic, with no recorded criticisms in media or social media searches. Analysts speculate her centrist, pro-EU stance might align her against Trump's isolationism, but she has remained neutral publicly.Gry LarsenLarsen, a former Labour Party parliamentarian and state secretary, has criticized Trump for slashing USAID funding, which she argues undermines global human rights efforts. She has also condemned his rhetoric on women and human rights, wearing a "Make Human Rights Great Again" hat in late 2024 as a pointed parody of Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. These remarks frame Trump as hostile to progressive international values.Kristin ClemetClemet, a former Conservative Party education minister, has been one of the most vocal critics. In a May 2025 Civita op-ed, she accused Trump of "dismantling American democracy" and "doing everything he can to tear down the liberal and rules-based world order." On X (formerly Twitter), she has called his claims "Trump-esque" (implying dishonesty) in an August 2024 post about Norwegian politics, and in 2017 tweeted that "Trump is putting millions of lives at risk" over his abortion policies. Earlier posts, like a January 2021 comment on the Capitol riot, emphasize that "no one has understood that Trump is dangerous."Kristian Berg Harpviken (Secretary, Non-Voting)As the non-voting secretary and director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Harpviken has not directly disparaged Trump but has emphasized the committee's independence from external pressure, implicitly rebuking Trump's lobbying. In a September 2025 AFP interview, he stated that media attention on candidates (like Trump) "has no impact" and that nominations are "not necessarily a great achievement." In an October 2025 Repubblica interview, he confirmed deliberations ended on October 6, 2025—before recent Trump-related events like the Gaza deal — signaling such developments won't sway decisions. Experts note his comments make Trump's win "improbable." REALITY: Ignoble Politics Prize So, you see, Trump never was going to receive the Nobel (ignoble) Peace Prize, no matter how much he achieved to establish fraternity between nations, abolish or reduce standing armies, or hold and promote peace congresses. This prize should be renamed the Ignoble Politics Prize. © 2025 Marc H. Rudov

Why No Nobel for Trump

The DEIfication of Claudine Gay