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Trump Wants the Nobel Prize. Here’s Who Will Actually Win It.
Expert insights from Oslo reveal the real contenders
This Friday at 11 a.m. Central European Time (5 a.m. ET), the Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner. I am a resident of Oslo and a member of the Foreign Press Association, where I attended yesterday’s expert briefing by Nina Græger, Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and Halvard Leira, Research Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). Neither serves on the committee, but they bring a wealth of relevant experience, and their insights come at a unique moment: the committee genuinely wants to honor peace work while Donald Trump takes the world stage demanding the prize for having “ended seven un-endable wars.”
Never before has anyone in the world, let alone a sitting president, campaigned so loudly to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump’s social media blitz has dominated global headlines. But here in Oslo, where I walked past the Norwegian Nobel Institute this morning, the reality is starkly different. The experts I heard yesterday made clear that Trump’s campaign reveals more about his need for validation than any serious consideration by the committee.
