Donald Trump reportedly made a cold call to Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg last month to discuss trade tariffs as well as his bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize
Donald Trump has been labeled “pathetic” for allegedly making a “desperate” cold-call to secure himself a Nobel Peace Prize.
The US president reportedly dialed up Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg “out of the blue” last month to chat about trade tariffs and his aspirations to snag the esteemed award. Stoltenberg was strolling down a street in Norway’s capital when he got the unexpected call from the White House, according to Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.
This isn’t the first time Trump has mentioned the Nobel Peace Prize while conversing with Stoltenberg, the outlet reported. This comes as Trump dismisses accountability for the failed Putin breakthrough and says ceasefire is “up to Zelensky”.
“It is true that President Trump called me a few days before his conversation with Prime Minister Støre. Several of the president’s staff members also participated in the conversation, including Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Greer,” Stoltenberg, the former NATO secretary-general, confirmed to POLITICO, reports the Irish Star.
“We discussed tariffs, economic cooperation, and it served as preparation for his call with Prime Minister Støre. I will not go into further detail about the content of the conversation,” he added. However, Trump did also bring up the award, an Oslo government official revealed.
The 19th-century Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel decreed that the Nobel Peace Prize should be given to the individual “who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by the Storting (Norwegian parliament), is responsible for selecting eligible candidates and deciding on the Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
While the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the prize in economic sciences are presented in Stockholm, Sweden, the Nobel Peace Prize is bestowed in Oslo, Norway. The selection of Nobel Prize laureates takes place at the beginning of October.
During his second term, Trump has aimed to position himself as a “peacemaker” president. He has claimed responsibility for ending or averting six major wars since his inauguration in January, including deescalating tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan earlier this year.
Several countries, including Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia, have already nominated him for brokering peace deals or ceasefires. His high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday was seen as a crucial opportunity for Trump to further demonstrate his peace-making abilities.
Despite his promise to end the war in Ukraine on his first day as president, Trump left the meeting without a ceasefire. Critics accused him of “begging” for the Nobel Peace Prize after reports of his call to Stoltenberg on X, labeling it “embarrassing”.
One critic commented: “Pathetic. Can he win anything without cheating?” Another chimed in: “Never in the history of the Peace Prize, has anyone begged for the prize. We are being ridiculed by the rest of the world.
“Trump’s next move will be cold-calling the Pope to lobby for sainthood,” another critic joked. If Trump were to win, he would join the ranks of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama as the fifth president to receive the award.
Some suggested that Trump is increasingly envious of Obama’s achievement. “It’s the only thing Obama has that he does not. It pains him so much,” one person noted.
Others criticized Trump for asking Norwegian officials for a Nobel Peace Prize while simultaneously threatening tariffs on the country. Last month, Trump announced a 15% tariff on Norwegian imports.
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“How embarrassing it must be for Americans to see their President begging or blackmailing countries for Nobel Peace Prize,” one critic wrote. Another echoed: “If this is true, it’s peak Trump: demanding a Nobel like it’s room service, then threatening tariffs if they say no. Classic strongman diplomacy. Source or satire? Either way, hilarious.”
During a February meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump lamented: “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize.”
He continued: “It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”
In a press briefing last month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also asserted that it’s “well past time” for Trump to win the prize.
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