Trump slams Nobel committee, accuses it of ‘choosing politics over peace’ after Nobel snub

The White House has accused the Norwegian Nobel Committee of prioritising “politics over peace” after it overlooked President Donald Trump for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, despite what aides described as his “unprecedented record” in global conflict resolution.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, in a statement posted early Friday on social platform X, criticised the decision, calling it “a politically motivated snub of a true peacemaker.”

“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,” Cheung wrote. “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

Trump and his allies had openly campaigned for the U.S. president to receive the prestigious honour, citing his administration’s efforts to mediate peace in at least seven conflict zones since returning to the White House in January. His nomination was supported by several foreign governments, including Israel, Cambodia, and Pakistan.

Just a day earlier, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) formally nominated Trump for the prize, highlighting his role in brokering a 20-point peace plan between Israel and Hamas to end the two-year war in Gaza. The deal, announced jointly by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, led to a ceasefire confirmed by Israeli officials on Friday morning.

Despite the high-profile push, the Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, recognising her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

Responding to the decision, Cheung said the president would not be deterred: “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives — with or without a Nobel Prize.”

Trump, who has long criticised the Nobel Committee as politically biased, downplayed the snub on Thursday. “They’ll have to do what they do,” he told reporters. “Whatever they do is fine. I didn’t do it for that — I did it because I saved a lot of lives.”

The Nobel Peace Prize nominations closed on February 1, and analysts had described Trump’s chances as slim, given the committee’s traditional preference for activists and diplomats over sitting world leaders.

Nonetheless, the president’s supporters argue that his efforts to secure peace in the Middle East and other regions mark a record unmatched by any recent U.S. administration.