Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by Georgi Harizanov, Dr. Alex Tokarev, and Kristin Tokarev.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room—the Republican name on the Nobel Peace Prize candidates’ list. Does Donald Trump deserve it? Some of you might think: Hell, yeah, Obama got it just for getting elected. The rest of you rolled your eyes so hard they almost fell out of your head. Can we forget our partisan biases for a minute and examine the record?
Yes, Trump is one of the most controversial figures in modern political history. The guy opens his mouth and half the people cheer, while the other half start setting things on fire. But when you strip away the media chaos, the Twitter wars, and the late-night comedy monologues, you have to admit that some of his foreign policy moves are kind of amazing.
Start with the most insane one—North Korea. For decades, every U.S. president since Truman has tried and failed to figure out what to do about the hermit kingdom. Most just played it safe with a mix of economic sanctions and stern warnings. Then Trump came in like a WWE fighter. He started calling Kim Jong-un “Little Rocket Man” and threatened to rain down “fire and fury.”
People thought World War III was about to start. And then—plot twist—Don and Kim began writing letters to each other. Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to walk into North Korea. They went from “we might nuke Guam” to “let’s talk at the DMZ.” It’s not peace, but in geopolitics, it’s like hitting a triple after none of your predecessors even made it to first base.
Remember the Congo–Rwanda wars? Most of the world does not, yet 7 million people were displaced since the most recent conflict began in March 2022. Millions more victims needed humanitarian assistance, among them 630,000 suffering from catastrophic food insecurity. Trump hosted a White House meeting and a June 2025 peace agreement was signed. Still not enough?
Armenia and Azerbaijan? It was solved after decades of military clashes and tragedies in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Both countries’ leaders looked visibly relieved when the armed conflict ended after all the destruction, death, and economic insecurity. Why didn’t Obama end the bloodshed? Why didn’t Biden bring peace? Why did Trump pacify the Caucasus when others failed?
How about the India–Pakistan ceasefire? This one prevented tens of thousands of civilian fatalities and unimaginable damage on both sides, perhaps even nuclear strikes. Yes, it’s just a ceasefire, and yes, the conflict is far from being solved for good. But the guns are silent on both sides. People are not dying, not losing their homes and possessions, and dialogue has been restored.
Trump picked up the phone and stopped another bloodbath in Southeast Asia. For that, he received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize from the Cambodian Prime Minister, who noted: “This timely intervention, which averted a potentially devastating conflict, was vital in preventing a great loss of lives and paved the way towards the restoration of peace.”
And then there’s the Middle East. This is where things get really interesting. During his first term in office, Trump brokered peace deals between Israel and several Arab countries: Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. The Abraham Accords marked the most significant shift in the region since the Camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt.
Israel and many regional governments didn’t even recognize each other’s existence. Suddenly, they’re opening embassies, signing trade deals, and flying direct commercial flights. You don’t have to love Trump to admit this was a big deal. Achieving such normalization wasn’t even on the radar under past presidents. Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden—all failed. Trump? He just did it.
Trump doesn’t do nuance. He does results. When Iran tested America’s resolve, Trump didn’t write a strongly worded letter. He sent B-2 bombers to remind Tehran what American power feels like. The Ayatollah hid in a hole. For the first time in decades, the streets of the Middle East weren’t echoing with chants of “Death to America.” Peace through strength, put into practice.
Finally, Russia. For three years, Europeans thought their hashtags and American taxpayers’ money would stop the tanks and the drones. Trump came back and squeezed Moscow where it hurt the most—oil markets. Now, the Kremlin sees that further aggression means consequences, not conferences. Putin finally faces someone with a spine. That seems to be the only hope for Ukraine.
So, does Donald Trump deserve a Nobel Peace Prize? Reasonable people can disagree. But ignoring his record of ceasefires, peace accords, and historic firsts is just as partisan as pretending he never stumbled. If the world’s most prestigious award can go to Al Gore for a slideshow or to Barack Obama before his foreign policy even began, then Trump’s record at least earns him a serious hearing. Love him or hate him, the question isn’t whether he broke the mold—he did. The real question is whether the Nobel Committee has the courage to admit it.
Finally, a highly unlikely person, often a Trump adversary, took the argument one step further. Rather than arguing the president deserves consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize, Hillary Clinton stated the morning of August 15 the conditions under which she would nominate him. The former U.S. Senator from New York and Secretary of State under President Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton wished the President good luck as he left for what we all hoped would be a historic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many news outlets reported her saying she would personally nominate President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if he could bring an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in a fashion acceptable to Ukraine.
As of this writing, The Art of the Deal with Russia and Ukraine continues in Washington, D.C. today. Let’s hope most of the world is rooting for President Trump and Ukraine, even the Nobel Prize Committee in Stockholm.
About The Authors
Georgi Harizanov, CEO, The Bulgarian Institute of Right-Wing Politics (IRWP).
Dr. Alex Tokarev, Economics Professor at Northwood University.
Kristin Tokarev, Producer and Writer at Stossel TV.
Dr. Timothy G. Nash, director of The Northwood University Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.