Nolan Finley: Did Trump just earn the Nobel Peace Prize?
Published in Op Eds
It's easier to make the case that President Donald Trump has earned consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize than it will be to convince those who award the honor to actually give it to him.
What Trump has done over the past week in the name of peace is masterful. The sword of nuclear Armageddon Iran has held over the world for decades is gone. Further, Iran will no longer go unchecked in spreading terrorism across the globe.
And two ancient blood enemies, Iran and Israel, have called a halt to their campaigns to slaughter each other. If it holds, a region of the world that has been held back by hate and violence will be able to go forward in pursuit of security and prosperity.
The person responsible is Donald J. Trump, who acted aggressively and skillfully to at least pause the most intractable conflict in modern history. As hard as these words are for so many to say — and I'll admit choking on them a bit myself — Trump deserves the credit.
He's not likely to get it.
Even halting a war that promised to take thousands more lives and removing an existential threat from the world is not cause for the Left to celebrate as long as Trump's name is attached to those accomplishments.
The nomination of the president for the Nobel prize by one of his loyalists, Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Georgia, has triggered derisive scoffs from the Trump derangement crowd. In his letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Carter wrote, “President Trump’s influence was instrumental in forging a swift agreement that many believed to be impossible.”
It's a claim supported by fact.
Trump did what no other president has done in the decades Iran has tormented the United States. He didn't fool around with sanctions and treaties that have proven useless in the past. He didn't try to buy off the mullahs. He took direct military action to put an end to the Iranian menace. Then he cleared the field and permitted a face-saving retaliatory missile strike against a U.S. military facility in Qatar that did no harm, called it even and started making peace.
Trump engaged his entire national security team, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as his Qatari allies, in coaxing Iran and Israel to a cease fire. Trump himself spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convince him to agree to the deal.
Trump has taken ownership of the cease-fire, publicly exhorting the two nations not to break it, and at one point even dropping an F-bomb in frustration during questioning about their ability to follow through.
He's staked his presidency on the success of the mission. His actions lack popular support in America, and many of Trump's most fervent supporters are disappointed he is engaging in what they see as nation building. His disregard of the polls and his fan base to do hard things on behalf of the nation shows his growth as a leader.
Still, given the history of the region, Trump is placing a risky bet. But it's hard for me to believe if any other president had done the things Trump has, the Nobel Prize wouldn't be part of the conversation. President Barack Obama was awarded the peace prize in 2009 even before he had even engaged on the world stage. He won because he was Barack Obama.
If the events of the last week change the long-term trajectory in the Middle East, Trump will have a legitimate claim to the Nobel Peace Prize. But he won't get it because he's Trump.
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