Trump and Nobel

Donald Trump will not win the Nobel Peace Prize. Not this year, or any year.
And all one needs to do is read the criteria for the prize to understand why not.
The late Alfred Nobel, the founder of the prize, laid out his vision for those who could one day claim the award granted in his name, and the qualities that mark a peace prize winner have never been exhibited by Donald J. Trump. Indeed, he has repeatedly exhibited beliefs and undertaken actions directly at odds with the more peaceful and cooperative planet that Alfred Nobel hoped his prize would inspire.
Among the core criteria established by Alfred Nobel in his will is a person who has promoted fraternity and understanding between nations. Donald Trump has done the opposite, withdrawing the United States from critical international agreements, like the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear agreement, the World Health Organization, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and engaging in a global trade war that has angered much of the world. Declaring “America First” while claiming a right to conquer weaker nations, like Greenland or Canada, are not the actions of a viable peace prize candidate.
Alfred Nobel also cited efforts to abolish or reduce standing armies and decrease the use of military force. Trump, by contrast, has engineered large increases in U.S. military spending, has bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, and is currently engaging in regular, unprovoked military attacks on boats emanating from South American countries in an apparent effort to provoke a military confrontation with Venezuela.
Most disturbingly, President Trump has declared war on his own people, sending troops to American cities to brutalize those who oppose his efforts to deport hard-working immigrants, many of whom are here legally and have no criminal records. While Trump campaigned on deporting only “the worst of the worst,” his administration has largely failed to track down criminal elements and has focused its efforts and brutal tactics on immigrant families who are trying to abide by the law, which makes them easier to find.
Trump has done nothing in the face of repeated documented cases of random and excessive violence perpetrated by overwrought ICE agents.
In a recent case in Chicago, hundreds of Trump’s masked agents raided a low-income apartment complex in the middle of the night, left every apartment in shambles, and zip-tied residents, including young children, some of whom were dumped on the streets wearing little or no clothing. Many, if not most, of the victims of this assault were U.S. citizens who were home sleeping in their beds.
Trump preceded that assault by telling military leaders he wanted to use American cities to train U.S. troops in battle tactics. He used social media to taunt major U.S. cities, urging troops he sent to use “full force,” which most troops could easily interpret as lethal force, against protesting American citizens.
“Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of War,” taunted Trump, against a backdrop of flames.
These are the actions of a sociopath, not a Nobel laureate.
The Nobel committee, as well, awards those who have used peaceful means to bring about change and those who have advanced human dignity and the integrity of our shared environment.
Donald Trump has certainly brought about change, albeit through regular violations of federal law and the U.S. Constitution. And who can forget that he incited violence in hopes of changing the results of the 2020 election, then pardoned even the most violent of his supporters, confirming that violence is welcomed by this president when it suits his interests.
Meanwhile, Trump and the individuals he has placed in high office routinely talk of immigrants and Americans who disagree with them in the most dehumanizing terms imaginable. Trump, a serial sexual abuser, just this past weekend, posted an AI video of himself dumping massive loads of feces on peaceful Americans he took an oath to serve. Advancing human dignity? Not a chance.
As for the environment, no president in U.S. history has done more to intentionally undermine the environmental protections enacted by previous generations of American leaders.
Finally, Nobel laureates are supposed to be individuals who not only stand for peace and non-violence but exhibit courage and integrity in so doing. Neither integrity nor courage are words that apply to President Trump in any context.
Does Donald Trump deserve credit for whatever role he played in advancing a tenuous cease fire in Gaza? Certainly.
But the Nobel Prize for Peace isn’t about the mechanics of an end to fighting. It is about a spirit and ethic of peace that encompasses an individual’s entire worldview and shapes how they interact with their fellow humans. It’s about humility and commitment to working together to build a better world. Donald Trump bears no resemblance to any of that.