Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a blistering critique of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee after it decided not to give the award to President Donald Trump, who has been crucial in mediating the Russia-Ukraine war and securing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
The committee gave the award to the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Joergen Watne Frydnes described Machado as a “brave and committed champion of peace.”
Machado was instrumental in leading an uprising against the Maduro Regime in Venezuela for allegedly stealing the 2024 presidential election against diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.
“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” Frydnes said.
Putin responded to the committee’s decision by saying that it had lost credibility.
“This award lost credibility. The committee discussed the prize for people who have done nothing for the world,” the Russian president said.
“He solves complex problems, crises that last for decades,” he added, referring to Trump.
White House communications director Steven Cheung responded to the committee’s announcement by saying that Trump “will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives.”
Cheung accused the committee of putting politics above peace.
“He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will. The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace,” he said.
Trump notably received various nominations for the award, including one by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of hostages who were taken in the aftermath of the heinous Oct. 7 attack in the Middle East.
“In this past year, no leader or organization has contributed more to peace around the world than President Trump. While many have spoken eloquently about peace, he has achieved it. While others have offered empty promises, he has delivered tangible results that have saved countless lives,” the forum said in a letter about Trump. “He has not merely spoken of peace — he has delivered it,”
As Fox News reported, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize over his efforts to broker peace in the Middle East.
“The president has already realized great opportunities. He forged the Abraham Accords. He’s forging peace, as we speak, in one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said.
“So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It’s nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved,” he added.
It appears that Trump foresaw the committee’s decision.
In February, while speaking to Netanyahu, the president said that he would never be given a Nobel Peace Prize despite his efforts to secure peace in the world.
“They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize,” the president said. “It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”
