US President Donald Trump seeking Nobel Peace Prize for himself may certainly sound ironic. There is great irony behind the establishment of the Nobel Prize itself. Alfred Nobel, a chemical engineer and an inventor, who had invented dynamite, was also known as the “dynamite king” during his lifetime. The dynamite was primarily invented for mineral exploration but was later misused in wars causing death of thousands of people.
In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludvig Nobel passed away. Newspapers mistook it as Alfred’s death. One of the newspapers in its obituary described Alfred as the “merchant of death” for having invented dynamite, which was used in killing tens of thousands of people. When Alfred read his premature obituary and realised how he was known to the world, not as an inventor but the facilitator of death, he decided to set up a prize, which would reward human excellence in its highest state in multiple fields. Thus, he instituted a prize in his own name, the ‘Nobel Prize’. He donated most of his wealth for this cause.
Trump is pursuing his Nobel Peace Prize with his characteristic dogged pursuit. Last month, he even made a direct call to Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, asking him that he wanted the Nobel Peace Prize and “also” wanted to discuss tariffs. It was reported by a Norwegian newspaper, Dagens Naeringsliv, while quoting unidentified sources about a week ago. Minister Jens got the call just “out of blue”, while he was walking down a street in Oslo, the newspaper reported.
Trump did not have any qualms or any scruples to directly demand the Nobel Peace Prize for himself and link it with tariffs, suggesting, “you either give me the Nobel Prize, or I slap you with tariffs.” That is “Trumpisque” audacity where he can do, demand and ask for anything, even defying logic, and reason.
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Megalomaniac is the perfect definition that fits President Trump. Having been endowed with enormous and unlimited powers as the US President, Trump is using and abusing these more for personal gains and glorification than anything else. Above all, he believes that he is not only justified but also entitled to do what he has been doing. He has disrupted the rule-based global order with his idiosyncratic ways that pop up from his crude and raw sense of economics. His self-righteous attitude does not allow him to see the adverse impact his tariffs have had on his own Americans.
He does not have anyone to correct him around. Like a typical megalomaniac, he is surrounded by a group of yes men, who praise and glorify him for whatever he does. Even when these people know that he is wrong, they still praise him, massaging his ego and emboldening him increasingly to succumb to his own idiosyncrasies. They encourage him to live in a world of fantasy, which he loves to do.
The only exception was Elon Musk, who tried to correct him. Trump not only sidelined him, but also threatened to jail him and deport him back to South Africa, where he was born. This is the same Musk who spent about $300 million on Trump’s election, besides providing him the ‘X’ platform, from where Trump had been banned by its previous owner Jack Dorsey during his first term as the President.
Trump has often been claiming to have ended “seven wars” and saved so many lives. These include the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand and Egypt and Ethiopia. He only mentions six of the seven wars that he claims to have ended.
India has already rejected his claims that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. This came at a heavy cost to India as an “insulted” Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, plus having announced 25 per cent more over the import of Russian oil, that may come into effect from August 27.
The other wars he mentions that he has ended have just stopped, if at all they really have stopped, but not actually ended. Only a megalomaniac like him can believe that he ended the wars by dangling the carrot and stick of trade and tariff together.
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Trump’s real test and challenge is ending the Russia-Ukraine war. He even went to the extent of according a “red carpet” welcome to Russian President Vladamir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in the hope that he may agree to the ceasefire and consequentially strengthen his “claim and stake” for the Nobel Peace Prize. But Putin proved to be too smart for Trump to be forced to end the war without his own terms and conditions.
Even if the Russia-Ukraine war ends and even if his bogus claims of having ended “seven wars” are believed to be true, as long as Trump stands by Israel and supports the war in Gaza, he stands disqualified for any peace prize, leave aside the Nobel Prize.
Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize bid has been supported by countries like Israel, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Gabon. Having brought major European powers like England, Germany, France, and Italy around in the Ukraine war, he may be expecting their support as well. He has already offered “security cover” to Ukraine, while he continues to remain allergic towards NATO.
Given the way he has been imposing his will on the world using trade and tariff, you never know, Trump may get the Nobel Peace Prize as well. Because, he believes, if Barack Obama can get it, why not him?
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