Norway on edge over Trump ahead of Nobel Peace Prize verdict

OSLO – Norway is bracing itself for the aftermath of the Nobel Peace Prize announcement on Oct 10, as the Nordic nation has faced increasing pressure from Mr Donald Trump and his administration to award it to the US leader.

Mr Donald Trump’s aggressive push to secure the prize, including public declarations that he deserves it and phone calls to Norwegian officials, has intensified with a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
and a possible peace deal.

At the same time, the decision-makers at the Norwegian Nobel Committee have signalled that this pressure has been futile.

In a social media post overnight on Oct 9, the US President’s son, Mr Eric Trump, asked his followers on X to “retweet if you believe @realDonaldTrump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize”.

The White House official account on X posted a photo of Mr Donald Trump, calling him “The Peace President” at about the same time.

And later on Oct 9, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb, Mr Donald Trump again pushed his track record in peacemaking.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do, really, but I know this: that nobody in history has solved eight wars in a period of nine months, and I’ve stopped eight wars,” he said.

“So that’s never happened before, but they’ll have to do what they do. Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for that. I did it because I saved a lot of lives.”

Mr Stubb acknowledged the decision on the prize belongs with the Nobel Committee but lauded the US President’s achievements.

“I have to say that the track record of the President of the United States in the past seven months, eight months, is rather impressive.” 

Mr Donald Trump’s campaign has thrust Oslo into an uncomfortable spotlight, with media and observers worrying about the diplomatic and economic fallout for Norway should the independent five-member committee snub him.

The latest comments from its head, Mr Jorgen Watne Frydnes, to local media fell just short of confirming that Mr Donald Trump will not get it at least in 2025 – in line with past examples where pressure on the committee has been counterproductive.

Mr Watne Frydnes told Norwegian tabloid VG that the decision on this year’s award was made on Oct 6. He also indicated in comments to public broadcaster NRK that the possible peace deal in the Middle East would only count towards 2026’s award.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has reiterated that the government does not interfere in Nobel decisions.

Meanwhile, Mr Donald Trump has become the favourite among the bookmakers, according to Oddschecker.

He is followed by Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a volunteer aid network operating in the war-torn nation, and Ms Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Still, the bookies have often been off the mark in the past.

Nominations for the 2025 prize closed on Jan 31, shortly after Mr Donald Trump’s return to the White House. However, former president Barack Obama famously got the prize in 2009 just months into the start of his presidency.

That has continued to irk Mr Donald Trump, who on Oct 9 again brought up how, in his view, Mr Obama did not deserve the accolade.

“Obama got the prize, he didn’t even know what he got. Obama, he got elected, and they gave it to Obama for doing absolutely nothing but destroying our country,” he told reporters.

Norway is currently in negotiations with the US for a trade deal – hoping for a reduction of a 15 per cent tariff on its shipments to the US – with Norwegian Trade Minister Cecilie Myrseth meeting officials in Washington, DC, this week. 

Another worry is Norway’s US$2 trillion (S$2.6 trillion) sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest. About 40 per cent of its investments are in the US, and there has been some concern that Mr Donald Trump might target the fund. BLOOMBERG