President Donald Trump on Monday revived his beef with the selection committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that the process is rigged against him.
Speaking to reporters before a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump asserted that “I would get a Nobel prize for a lot of things, if they give it out fairly, which they don’t.”
Trump was discussing the latest developments in the disputed region of Kashmir, which is sandwiched between India and Pakistan and which India has clamped down control over for the last several months. After Trump advertised himself as “an extremely good arbitrator,” a foreign reporter suggested that should Trump successfully broker peace, he would “very likely and definitely” receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump then offered up former President Barack Obama as an example of the prize being unfairly awarded.
“They gave one to Obama immediately upon his ascent to the presidency and he had no idea why he got it,” Trump said, joking: “You know what? That was the only thing I agreed with him on.”
Obama received the famed award in 2009, less than nine months into his term in the White House for what the Nobel Committee said were “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy” and his calls for nuclear nonproliferation. The honor drew confusion at the time from some in the international community who questioned what he could have done so soon in his presidency to merit such an achievement, especially with wars in the Middle East still raging. Even some in the White House expressed surprise at the win.
NSP
Article URL : https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/23/trump-nobel-peace-prize-1508484