Trump wants a Nobel Prize through ‘easy wars’ as Ukraine and Gaza plans flop

 Donald Trump and his top officials want the world to know that he already deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Saturday night, Trump revived that discussion by making own audacious claim, insisting that in his brief time back in the White House, he has already ended no fewer than five wars.  

Last month’s truce between Cambodia and Thailand is now being added to a tally that includes the May ceasefire that Trump claims he brokered between India and Pakistan, the truce agreed by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, the signing of a peace agreement last month between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, and June’s cessation of hostilities between Israel and Iran that Trump says he ended by “wiping out Iran’s nuclear capabilities” after a mere 12 days. 

Notably absent from the list, of course, are the two principle conflicts that continue to dominate world headlines: Gaza and Ukraine. On the campaign trail last year, Trump insisted he could solve both standoffs on his first day back in the Oval Office. He now dismisses that pledge as “a little bit sarcastic”, and having realised the complexities of bringing peace to both regions, appears intent on channeling his energies elsewhere. 

With Vladimir Putin serving as an increasing source of frustration for Trump, the week ahead may see fresh White House action to intensify sanctions against the Kremlin. But last week, Trump conceded that proposed tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russian oil “may or may not work”. Having survived more than three years of supposedly crippling US sanctions, the Kremlin is evincing no concern about whatever actions Trump is contemplating

Seeking less-convoluted conflicts to defuse, Sudan is Trump’s next target, where a civil war has raged since 2023 between the country’s army and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Last month, the President vowed that the U.S. would engage in fresh efforts to bring the conflict to an end. US special envoy Massad Boulos, the father in law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, says Sudan will be his “priority in the coming phase”, although the declaration of a parallel RSF government last week will complicate that task. 

Trump is using his traditional mixture of bluster, pressure and self-belief to promote himself as a possible Nobel Laureate. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his global special envoys have undoubtedly been busy in numerous theatres, there is  disgreement about the extent of America’s role in ending several of the conflicts that Trump claims to have resolved. 

Malaysia, for instance, played a key role in ending the violent standoff between Cambodia and Thailand. India has angrily rejected claims that Trump ended the country’s conflict with Pakistan, and denies that promises of trade with the United States played any role in its decision to stand its forces down. Oman played a central role in the Houthi ceasefire that Trump claims as his own. Only last week the US and allied governments issued a warning about the threat of renewed terrorist activity by Iran, raising new questions about that country’s commitment to the ceasefire Trump says that he secured. 

Israel and Pakistan have already nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Now Cambodia says it will follow suit. The country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sun Chanthol, said on Friday that the government in Phnom Penh wishes to “acknowledge his great efforts for peace”. 

All three governments hope their standing with the American leader will be elevated by urging the Nobel committee in Norway to grant Trump the international honour that he most craves. During their most recent meeting at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even presented Trump with a copy of the letter that he had sent to Oslo promoting the US president’s candidacy.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the honour is long overdue. “President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office”, she told reporters, arguing it is “well past time” for her boss to be recognised for his work. 

The Nobel Committee may take the view that Trump’s failure to do the hard work involved in securing peace in Gaza and Ukraine detracts from his claim to the award, So another top White House aid, trade adviser Peter Navarro, is separately promoting the President as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Economics as well. 

“He’s basically taught the world economics”, he told Fox News on Friday, referring to the global trade war the United States is now waging. “He might be up for the Nobel Prize in Economics, because this is a fundamental restructuring of the international trade environment”, he insisted.