When Timing Decides History: Trump’s Nobel Bid and Obama’s Early Win

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   Sharlee01posted 7 hours ago

   Trump’s Missed Nobel Peace Prize and the Questions Surrounding Obama’s 2009 Award
   
   
   In October 2025, President Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, though many observers believed his recent diplomatic efforts placed him among the world’s leading candidates. According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s rules, all nominations must be received by January 31 of the award year. While several individuals and political figures submitted Trump’s name, some of those nominations arrived after the official deadline, making them ineligible for consideration in 2025.
   
   Supporters of President Trump point to his peace-focused diplomacy as a reason for recognition. He has been credited with helping to establish or restore peaceful relations in seven nations through various negotiations and agreements. His ongoing involvement in facilitating dialogue in the Israel-Gaza conflict, widely regarded as his greatest challenge, has drawn global attention. Reports suggest that his coalition-building approach and behind-the-scenes diplomacy may be contributing to what some now describe as the beginning of a path toward a ceasefire and eventual peace in the region.
   
   This led me to wonder about a previous U.S. president who did receive the Nobel Peace Prize,  Barack Obama. After doing some research, I found that Obama took office on January 20, 2009, and less than nine months later, in October 2009, he was announced as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Nobel Committee stated that he was selected for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
   
   However, it is important to note that the nomination deadline that year was February 1, 2009, just eleven days after he assumed office. Given that timeline, it appears that Obama was nominated before he had undertaken any significant international actions as president. This raised questions among scholars, journalists, and even previous Nobel winners, who wondered what specific achievements qualified him for the award so early in his presidency.
   
   When looking deeper, I discovered something unusual. In most cases, those who nominate Nobel Peace Prize candidates,  whether they are lawmakers, university professors, or past laureates, often make their nominations public after the winner is announced. Yet in Obama’s case, there is no public record identifying who nominated him. The Nobel Committee, which maintains strict confidentiality for 50 years, has never released the name of his nominator, and unlike other years, no individual or institution has stepped forward to take credit.
   
   This absence of information stands out in Nobel history. While the committee’s secrecy rule is standard practice, the lack of any self-identified nominator for Obama’s 2009 award remains a unique case. It adds to the longstanding curiosity about why and how the decision was made so early in his presidency.
   
   Although the Nobel Peace Prize often stirs debate, the contrasting stories of President Donald Trump and President Barack Obama highlight how timing, process, and perception play powerful roles in how the world interprets contributions to peace.
   
   Yes, this is curious, and my own research leads me to believe that the lack of transparency surrounding Obama’s nomination is conspiracy-worthy, or at the very least, raises questions that deserve a closer look.
   
   My view--- As for President Donald Trump, in my view, his first year in office has already outpaced the achievements of many before him. His actions speak for themselves, and one can only imagine what is yet to come. It seems certain that he will hold a distinct place in history for solid, measurable deeds,  while many presidents before him may simply remain in his dust.
   
   Perhaps you will share some thoughts---

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      wildernessposted 7 hours agoin reply to this

      For myself, the award to Obama was the destruction of the Nobel Peace Prize, for it was no more than a political statement that Obama was doing well in their view.
      
      Worse, it throws all the rest of the Nobel prizes into question as well; are they honest or just political admiration and recognition?  Will we ever see a prize go to someone in the hierarchy of a political system far different from that of the Nobel committee?  I doubt it.

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         GA Andersonposted 5 hours agoin reply to this

         I'm with you on this one. Without any comparison to Pres. Trump, and no criticisms of Pres. Obama, his selection came across as a political reward rather than an earned one. The award lost its prestige for me too.
         
         To the OP's question about the nomination details, there does seem to be an argument about how typical it is for nominators to publicly self-identify. So maybe there isn't a lot of grounds for conspiracy theorists, maybe it's just a circumstantial evidence argument about political theater.
         
         Then again, maybe it's delusional to compare the two nominations.   ;-)
         
         GA

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   Willowarborposted 6 hours ago

   The committee chose democracy over delusion....simple.

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   Venkatachari Mposted 6 hours ago

   I believe the Nobel Prize to Obama was a recognition of his social services and work done towards the coordination of International Relations and Public Services. He contributed huge funds to charity organisations while serving as a Senator, and much more before. So, his Nobel award has nothing to do with his Presidency.

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      wildernessposted 5 hours agoin reply to this

      It didn't seem to have anything to do with promoting world peace either. 
      
      But I agree that it had nothing to do with his presidency.

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   IslandBitesposted 4 hours ago

   The levels of entitlement and pettiness... LOL
   
   
   
   Maybe Obama wasn't desperately demanding one.

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5. 84

   Sharlee01posted 3 hours ago

   Well, I can agree wholeheartedly to that--- in my view, he was very intelligent, and would not have entertained the idea that he did anything at that point in his life to deserve a Nobel Peace prize.

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   Sharlee01posted 2 hours ago

   I did a bit of looking around. Not much out there on why he received the award.
   
   The Nobel Committee’s announcement (October 9, 2009) said Obama was chosen “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
   
   The committee’s chair, Thorbjørn Jagland, later clarified in interviews that the award was meant to encourage Obama’s efforts as president, especially his tone toward international cooperation and nuclear disarmament.
   
   The nomination period for that year closed just 12 days after he took office, so there was essentially no time for any presidential achievements to occur.
   
   So while the committee’s words tied the award to his early presidency and international vision, in reality, it was based mostly on the hope and promise of his leadership, not his record — whether as senator or president."
   
   Article  Nobel committee defends Obama peace prize
   "One judge noted with surprise that Barack Obama "didn't look particularly happy" at being named the Nobel peace laureate. Another marvelled at how critics could be so patronising.
   
   In a rare public defence of a process normally shrouded in secrecy, four of the Nobel peace prize jury's five judges have spoken about a selection they said was both merited and unanimous.
   
   To those who say a Nobel is too much too soon in Obama's young presidency, "we simply disagree ... He got the prize for what he has done", said the committee chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland.
   
   Jagland singled out Obama's efforts to heal the divide between the west and the Muslim world and to scale down a Bush-era proposal for a missile shield in Europe."   
   
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/ … hatgpt.com
   https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti … hatgpt.com
   https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace … s-release/

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