Why Trump Will Never Win a Nobel Peace Prize
Much of Trump’s diplomatic work suggests that he is both incompetent and a loser, however. He is fond of claiming that he has stopped seven wars and ended conflicts that had been ongoing for “decades”—like one between Azerbaijan and Armenia (which he almost always confuses with Albania). For the most part, though, Trump’s work has consisted of swooping in to help halt relatively minor escalations. The full-fledged wars that he promised to end on his first day in office on the campaign trail last year—in Ukraine and Gaza—are still very active and only recently paused, respectively. After eight months of costly dithering, he has finally begun aiding Ukraine against Russian invaders, albeit to a lesser extent than his predecessor. In Gaza, the recent truce is a positive sign—and an accomplishment that Joe Biden could not achieve, due to a combination of his own spinelessness and Benjamin Netanyahu’s eagerness to continue the conflict (and aid Trump’s reelection effort).
It’s unlikely that the Gaza peace deal will hold—Netanyahu clearly wants to continue the war, and the thorniest part of the negotiations are yet to come—but even it does, Trump will never win the Nobel for a simple reason: He is running an increasingly violent, murderous, and despotic government. Masked goons from the Department of Homeland Security are kidnapping and disappearing people from the streets, shooting priests with pepper balls, and handcuffing naked children. He is ordering the wanton bombing of small boats off the coast of Venezuela and Colombia, claiming that they are filled with drugs and “narcoterrorists” without providing any evidence, in clear violation of U.S. and international law. And his administration is inching closer to war in Venezuela.
The fact that Machado was awarded the prize may ironically make that war more likely. She advocates for regime change in Venezuela, though she has stopped short of endorsing a U.S.-led overthrow—but she has endorsed America’s extralegal strikes in the Caribbean, claiming that they are necessitated by Maduro’s oppressive narcoterrorist government. By endorsing her project, the Nobel Committee has given it greater legitimacy. It has handed a potent argument to figures in the Trump administration, notably Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who are pushing the United States to remove Maduro from power through military force.
