All the reasons world leaders are calling for Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize
The president has jockeyed to win the prize in October, though he said he doesn’t think he will.
Demonstrators hold an image of President Donald Trump during a protest demanding the release of Israeli hostages who are being held in the Gaza Strip, outside the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. | Ariel Schalit/AP Photo
President Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize — and global leaders and his Republican allies are lining up to call for it.
He’s made that goal clear through his public statements and his team’s messaging. He even went as far as to cold-call Norway’s finance minister to discuss the prize.
But despite lamenting online that “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do,” a growing list of world leaders — as well as CEOs and Republican allies — are putting him up for the award.
A wide range of people can nominate someone to win what’s arguably the world’s most famous award, from heads of sovereign states to university professors. But actually winning it is a different thing: the award is picked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee — composed of five members picked by the Norwegian Parliament — and is set to be announced next month.
Trump is now downplaying his odds. “I have nothing to say about it,” Trump told CBS News on Wednesday when asked whether he’s seeking the honor. “All I can do is put out wars,” adding, “I don’t seek attention. I just want to save lives.”
Whether the calls are part of an attempt to flatter the president to curry favor with the U.S., or borne out of a genuine belief he should receive the award, they are now piling up. Here’s a list of all the reasons world leaders are citing for Trump to win.
‘Operation Warp Speed’
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Wednesday the mRNA vaccines developed during the pandemic as part of “Operation Warp Speed” — Trump’s first term effort to quickly produce and distribute Covid-19 vaccines — were a “profound public health achievement” that “would typically be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who has previously clashed with Trump, indicated his agreement on X Wednesday.
The Trump administration has moved away from supporting this same vaccine development in his second term. Vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the Health and Human Services Department, which has rolled back recommendations on Covid shots and cut millions of dollars in funding for mRNA vaccines.
Brokering the Abraham Accords
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally nominated Trump for the prize in July, writing in the letter that he had a significant role in bringing about “dramatic change” in the Middle East. He credited the president with brokering the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020.
“These groundbreaking agreements established formal diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab nations — including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco,” he said. “These breakthroughs reshaped the Middle East and marked a historic advance toward peace, security and regional stability.”
Top UAE officials have publicly warned this week that the Abraham Accords could be unwound if Israel annexes the Palestinian-run West Bank.
Pakistan-India relations
The Pakistani government nominated Trump for the award in response to his role in deescalating brewing conflict between the two nations on the brink of war.
“At a moment of heightened regional turbulence, President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi which deescalated a rapidly deteriorating situation, ultimately securing a ceasefire and averting a broader conflict between the two nuclear states that would have had catastrophic consequences for millions in the region and beyond,” the government wrote on X in June.
They also thanked Trump for offering to help stabilize the Kashmir region, an area which has long been the source of dispute between India and Pakistan.
Indian officials publicly said America had no role in the mediation. The New York Times reported last month that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s refusal to nominate Trump for the prize has hurt their relationship, but a White House spokesperson told the Times that the two world leaders have “a respectful relationship” and “remain in close communication.”
In the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said he’ll “always be friends with Modi” when asked if he’s ready to reset relations with the country. “India and the United States have a special relationship,” he added. “There’s nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion.”
Cambodia and Thailand’s border conflict
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet lauded Trump’s “extraordinary statesmanship” in brokering a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand, nominating him for the prize in August.
“This timely intervention, which averted a potentially devastating conflict, was vital in preventing a great loss of lives and paved the way towards the restoration of peace,” the Cambodian leader wrote in the letter.
Trump had intervened in the conflict between the two nations, threatening to cut off trade until they resolved the issue.
“Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They are also looking to get back to the ‘Trading Table’ with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS.”
A transit corridor as part of an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement
Both nations said they would nominate Trump for the prize after he brokered a deal for peace between the two nations. As part of the agreement, the countries agreed they would stop fighting, and give the U.S. development rights to a transit corridor in the region.
“It’s a long time. Thirty-five years — they fought and now they’re friends, and they’re going to be friends for a long time,” Trump said at the signing ceremony at the White House.
His work in Africa
At a meeting with five African leaders at the White House in July, several of them said the president “deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize after Rwanda and the Congo signed a peace deal in Washington.
“Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity, harmony, prosperity and peace,” Trump said at the meeting.
