President Trump’s relentless campaign to win a Nobel Peace Prize carried on Tuesday as he insisted every United Nations leader nominated him for his efforts to end global conflicts and blamed Norway for the snub.
Mr. Trump, in recent days, has made his obsession with not winning the Nobel Peace Prize part of his foreign policy moves. He met last week with the 2025 winner, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who presented him with her award.
And this week, he linked the prize to his insistence that the U.S. must annex Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
During a nearly two-hour press conference at the White House, Mr. Trump repeated his claim that he’s resolved eight wars and that should have been enough for him to receive the prestigious peace prize. He said that he had overwhelming support to win it last year, but Norway blocked it, suggesting that the reasons were political.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that Norway doesn’t control the shots. OK, it’s in Norway. Norway controls the shots,” Mr. Trump said, adding that he “lost a lot of respect” for Norway because of the perceived slight.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said this week that his government holds no sway over the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.
“As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government,” Mr. Store said in a statement Monday.
Mr. Trump said “every single” United Nations leader and participants in the wars he has claimed to solve sent a letter of recommendation to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“Every participant wrote. I didn’t ask them to do it. They sent in strong recommendations. You know, they make recommendations for that,” he said.
When asked why winning the Nobel Peace Prize is so important to him and if receiving the award would improve the lives of everyday Americans, Mr. Trump acknowledged that it “wouldn’t improve” Americans’ lives. But he maintained that his actions have benefited the lives of people living in war-ravaged countries.
“I saved probably tens of millions of lives in the wars,” Mr. Trump said. “I saved millions of people. So that to me is a big thing.”
Mr. Trump is the odds‑on favorite to win the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, according to new betting lines, outpacing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Leo XIV, the late Charlie Kirk and global humanitarian aid groups. BetOnline lists him with 5:1 odds.
Mr. Trump’s latest remarks appear to contradict his statements on Monday, when he told reporters, “I don’t care” about the prize.
“What I care about is saving lives,” Mr. Trump said. “And I think I’ve saved tens of millions of lives … we stopped eight wars, and maybe we’ll be stopping a ninth very soon, we’ll see.”
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 was awarded last month to Ms. Machado, after Mr. Trump spent months campaigning publicly for the 18-carat gold medal.
Not winning the award has influenced some of the president’s foreign policy initiatives in recent days. Last week, Ms. Machado privately met with Mr. Trump and presented him with her medal in a bid to influence her country’s future.
In a message to Mr. Store this week, Mr. Trump linked his insistence on annexing Greenland to his grievance over not receiving the Nobel prize.
U.S. troops earlier this month raided Venezuela and captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. They were brought to a Manhattan jail, where they await trial on charges of narco terrorism. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez is running the country.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said there might be a role for Ms. Machado in Venezuela’s future, saying, “Maybe we can get her involved.” However, the White House has questioned whether she has the support to lead the country.
Mr. Trump last week said Ms. Machado’s decision to present him with her Nobel Peace Prize was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.” Ms. Machado said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute said the decision to award a Nobel Prize is final and permanent, citing the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, which do not allow appeals. The organization also noted that committees awarding the prizes do not comment on the actions or statements of laureates after receiving awards.
“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said in a statement. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”
That prompted a backlash from the Trump administration. White House Deputy Secretary Anna Kelly said the foundation wanted “to criticize instead of recognize [Mr. Trump’s] incredible efforts towards PEACE,” while Director of Communications Steven Cheung said, “They should highlight the President’s unprecedented accomplishments.”
When asked last week if Mr. Trump wanted Ms. Machado to give him the prize, Mr. Trump told Reuters, “No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
In a message this week to Mr. Store amid escalating tensions over Greenland, the American president said that he no longer needed to “think purely of peace” because he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Mr. Store confirmed the message, which was leaked to the media. He said Mr. Trump was responding to a text that he had sent on behalf of Norway and Finland expressing opposition to U.S. tariffs on European nations who rejected a takeover of Greenland.
“We pointed to the need to de-escalate and proposed a telephone conversation,” Store said.
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Mr. Trump’s words were taken out of context.
“It’s a complete canard to think President Trump’s action on Greenland is due to” not receiving the Nobel Prize, he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Only three other U.S. presidents have won a Nobel Peace Prize while in office. President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 for his effort to end the war between Japan and the Russian Empire. President Wilson won in 1919 for helping launch the League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations, at the end of World War I. President Obama received the medal in 2009, barely one year into office, for his efforts to achieve peace throughout the world, the committee said.
Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002, more than 20 years after he left office, for his decades of promoting democracy and human rights and mediating disputes.
