As President Joe Biden attempts to navigate a series of international missteps that threaten to ensnare U.S. forces in full-fledged wars on multiple fronts, former President Donald Trump is campaigning for another term in part on his record as a peacekeeper.
During a Fox News Channel town hall event on Jan. 10, he boasted that there was “very little chaos” during his term in the White House, claiming: “I had no wars. I’m the only president in 72 years — I didn’t have any wars.”
Amid growing tensions in the Middle East that has sparked concerns about U.S. involvement in a war, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) cited Trump’s record as her motivation for nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize.
President Trump’s Abraham Accords were an unprecedented accomplishment in the pursuit of Middle East peace, yet they continue to go unrecognized by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.
I am honored to nominate Donald Trump today for the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to…
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) January 30, 2024
“Donald Trump was instrumental in facilitating the first new peace agreements in the Middle East in almost 30 years,” she explained in a statement announcing the nomination.
“For decades, bureaucrats, foreign policy ‘professionals,’ and international organizations insisted that additional Middle East peace agreements were impossible without a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Trump proved that to be false.”
Heralding the “unprecedented” achievements of the Abraham Accords that Trump was instrumental in brokering, Tenney concluded that the former president is a worthy recipient of the honor.
“Now more than ever, when Joe Biden’s weak leadership on the international stage is threatening our country’s safety and security, we must recognize Trump for his strong leadership and his efforts to achieve world peace,” she wrote. “I am honored to nominate former President Donald Trump today and am eager for him to receive the recognition he deserves.”
Near the end of Trump’s term in office, Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian parliament, offered a similar rationale for nominating him for a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
“It is for his contribution for peace between Israel and the UAE,” he said. “It is a unique deal.”
Trump has been nominated on two other occasions — by a European Parliament member from Finland and by a group of Australian lawmakers — based on his record of peace while in office.
“The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt in 1978 and for the Oslo Accords in 1994,” Tenney reasoned. “Yet, the Abraham Accords, achieved by President Trump, continue to go unrecognized by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.”
