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Pedestrian.tv
National
Tom Disalvo

Norway Is Bracing For US Retaliation If Donald Trump Doesn’t Win The Nobel Peace Prize

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Politicians in Norway are bracing for Donald Trump’s reaction if he doesn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, just hours ahead of the official winner being revealed later today (AEDT).

The prestigious awards ceremony — organised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee — will announce its list of winners in categories like Chemistry, Literature and Peace at around 8pm tonight. And naturally, the Norwegian government is war gaming over what to do if the awards committee (a non government entity) doesn’t hand Trump the Nobel Peace Prize.

“The Nobel Committee is an independent body and the Norwegian government has no involvement in determining the prizes, but I’m not sure Trump knows that,” Kirsti Bergstø, the leader of Norway’s Socialist Left party, told The Guardian

“We have to be prepared for anything from him… When the president is this volatile and authoritarian, of course we have to be prepared for anything,” she added. 

donald-trump-gaza
Israel agreed to the first phase of peace plans, outlined by the US, earlier this week. (Image: Getty Images)

It comes after months of Trump and his allies being vocal about his supposed deservedness of the prize, which was previously won by his presidential predecessor, Barack Obama, back in 2009. 

At the UN General Assembly last month, Trump incorrectly claimed he had stopped seven “unendable wars” — including in India and Pakistan, and Cambodia and Thailand — and told world leaders: “Everyone thinks I should get the Nobel Peace Prize.”

On Thursday, Trump’s son Eric launched a poll on X about whether Trump deserves the prize, with the White House later sharing a photo of him emblazoned with the words “Peace President”.  

Trump’s eagerness for the award also raised eyebrows for Arild Hermstad, the leader of Norway’s Green party. “Peace prizes are earned through sustained commitment, not through social media tantrums and not from intimidation,” Hermstad told The Guardian. 

“Any step toward ending the suffering in Gaza is welcome, but one late contribution does not erase years of enabling violence and division,” he added. 

Some concerns in Norway reached the point of questioning whether Trump would take retribution for not winning the prize in the form of tariffs or declaring Norway an enemy, according to columnist and analyst Harald Stanghelle

“It’s very very difficult to explain to Donald Trump or to many other countries in the world that it is a totally independent committee because they do not respect this kind of independence,” Stanghelle said.

Stanghelle added that Trump actually winning would be the “biggest surprise in the history of the Nobel peace prize.”

Obama won the Peace Prize in 2009 for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. (Image: Getty Images)

We won’t know for sure how it all plays out, or whether Trump reacts, until the announcement is revealed, but experts said the most likely candidates to win this year’s prize are Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

The announcement comes ahead of the actual prize ceremony scheduled for December 10, when the recipients will officially be awarded the honour in Norway’s capital, Oslo. 

Per its website, the Nobel Committee decides the Peace Prize winner based on criteria like arms control and disarmament, peace negotiation and work aimed at creating a better-organised and more peaceful world.

Lead images: Getty Images and X

The post Norway Is Bracing For US Retaliation If Donald Trump Doesn’t Win The Nobel Peace Prize appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .

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