The winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced today at 09:00 GMT (2:30 pm IST), in a year overshadowed by a months-long campaign by US President Donald Trump to win what is arguably the world's most prestigious award.
Several world leaders, governments, and organisations have nominated him for the award, citing his role in recent peace efforts, particularly the Israel-Hamas ceasefire announced just a day before the Nobel results. However, many of these nominations came after the January 31 deadline, making them unlikely to count for this year’s prize.
Who all nominated Trump?
Trump’s nominations came from across continents. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially nominated him, crediting Trump for brokering the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire and for his earlier work on Middle East peace accords. Pakistan’s government also nominated him, citing his diplomatic role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan border crisis that led to a ceasefire. A claim denied by New Delhi. However, it's ironic that Israel and Pakistan – two countries on the opposing sides of a raging conflict in the Middle East – are backing the same person for the Nobel honour.
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet submitted a nomination in August after a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand, while Rwanda’s government supported Trump for helping resolve regional conflicts in Central Africa.
In August, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev backed his candidacy after signing a peace agreement. Malta’s Foreign Minister Ian Borg also said he had nominated Trump, recognising his role in peace efforts from Gaza to the Caucasus.
In the United States, Representative Anna Paulina Luna formally nominated Trump for his diplomatic work in Gaza, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and Congo-Rwanda. Representatives Buddy Carter, Darrell Issa, and Claudia Tenney also supported him, citing his role in the Abraham Accords. The Israeli Hostages Families Forum praised him for helping secure the release of hostages during the Gaza negotiations.
Too late for the prize?
Most of these endorsements came months after the January 31 deadline. The Nobel Committee does not consider nominations submitted after the cut-off for that year’s award. As reported by The Independent, the committee typically finalises its decision several days before the public announcement, suggesting that Trump’s Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, struck just a day before the results, was unlikely to influence the outcome.
Trump has frequently claimed credit for promoting global peace, saying he “stopped seven wars” during his presidency. “I have no idea... Marco (Rubio) would tell you we settled seven wars. We are close to settling an eighth... I think we are close to settling the Russia situation... I don't think anybody in history has settled that many. But perhaps they'll find a reason not to give it to me,” Trump told journalists at the White House on Wednesday.
The biggest reason Trump will not win the award is timing. The Nobel nominations closed on January 31, a week after he returned to the White House. The 114-year-old Nobel Committee, selected by Norway’s Parliament, is known for keeping the names of nominees and nominators sealed for 50 years. The Peace Prize is presented in Oslo on December 10 each year.
The reality behind Trump’s peace claims
Of the seven conflicts Trump has claimed to have settled, only three or four involved active armed fighting, including Israel-Iran, India-Pakistan, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and Rwanda-Congo. Others, such as the Egypt-Ethiopia Nile River dam dispute and the Serbia-Kosovo tensions, were diplomatic standoffs, not wars. Moreover, while Trump claims he was involved in the mediation between India and Pakistan, New Delhi has clarified that the ceasefire understanding was established after direct military talks between the two countries.
Trump has also expressed his desire to join four other US presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama, who have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Obama’s 2009 win was considered controversial as it came within months of his first term, while the US was still involved in Iraq and Afghanistan and later engaged in Syria and Libya.
To Trump’s credit, he remains the only US president in this century who did not launch a new war. However, his administration escalated drone strikes, continued existing conflicts, and carried out targeted assassinations, including the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Peacemaker image in Trump 2.0
In his second term, Trump has made ending global wars a central part of his foreign policy. His administration’s attempts to end the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars have yet to succeed. A peace summit in Alaska in August, aimed at persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war, collapsed. The war is set to enter its fourth year in February 2026.
Trump now appears to be banking on the Israel-Hamas conflict for a potential Nobel breakthrough. On Thursday, just 24 hours before the prize announcement, he posted on Truth Social that both sides had agreed to the first phase of a peace plan and that all hostages would soon be released. He signed off his post with, “Blessed are the peacemakers!”
In September, Trump told CBS News he was not interested in the Nobel Peace Prize. “I have nothing to say about it. All I can say is that I put out wars... I don't seek attention. I just want to save lives,” he said.
Despite his confidence and the string of late nominations, analysts say Trump’s chances remain slim. The Nobel Peace Prize typically rewards long-term, collaborative efforts toward peace rather than short-term deals or headline-making diplomacy.
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