Nobel Committee Explains Why Trump Was Overlooked for Peace Prize as Venezuelan Activist Maria Corina Machado Receives Honor

US President Donald Trump (File).

The Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan pro-democracy activist Maria Corina Machado, dashing US President Donald Trump's widely publicized aspirations for the prestigious honor.

Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes provided insight into their decision-making process when addressing reporters after the announcement, indirectly explaining why President Trump was not selected despite his campaign's vigorous efforts.

"This committee has encountered every type of campaign and media attention. We receive thousands of letters annually from people explaining what they believe leads to peace," Frydnes stated. "However, this committee conducts its deliberations in a room adorned with portraits of all previous laureates - a space embodying both courage and integrity. Our decisions are based solely on Alfred Nobel's work and intentions."

The Committee described Machado as a "key, unifying figure" - a significant characterization considering their decision to overlook Trump's candidacy.

Last year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Japan's Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing survivors who have campaigned for nuclear weapons elimination for 69 years.

Trump and his administration engaged in what critics termed a "shameful" campaign that consistently promoted the President's supposed peace achievements. During a recent United Nations General Assembly address, Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims about his role in the Operation Sindoor ceasefire.

India has categorically rejected assertions that Trump played any part in de-escalating hostilities with Pakistan in May, clarifying that the conflict ended only after Pakistan directly requested cessation.

Trump's Nobel Prize campaign rested on claims of resolving numerous international conflicts, including purported wars between Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.

Additionally, despite Trump's declaration last year that he would end the Ukraine war within days of taking office, the conflict continues nine months into his presidency with no resolution in sight.

Foreign policy experts note that while the US did help negotiate temporary peace in Gaza and mitigate missile exchanges between Israel and Iran, many of Trump's other claimed "wars" were not actual armed conflicts. In cases that did involve genuine hostilities, such as between Rwanda and DR Congo, fighting has not conclusively ceased.

Nevertheless, Trump has consistently attributed outsized "victories" to himself in these situations, often crediting his aggressive trade tariff strategy for these supposed diplomatic successes.

Trump's fixation on winning the Nobel Prize was previously evident in his critical comments about former President Barack Obama's 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, which Obama received shortly after taking office for his advocacy of nuclear disarmament and strengthening international diplomacy.