Nobel Committee insists Trump’s media push will not influence decision

US President Donald Trump’s ambition to secure the Nobel Peace Prize next month appears to be running into a major obstacle: the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s strict independence.

The committee, speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP), emphasized that media attention or external lobbying does not sway its decisions.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has openly expressed his desire to win the prestigious award, which his former rival Barack Obama received in 2009 shortly after taking office. The 79-year-old billionaire has repeatedly claimed he “deserves it,” citing his efforts to end six wars, even as conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, which he says he wants to resolve, continue to unfold.

Read more: Trump downplays Nobel Peace Prize ambitions

“Of course, we do notice that there is a lot of media attention towards particular candidates,” Kristian Berg Harpviken, secretary of the Nobel Committee, told AFP in Oslo. “But that really has no impact on the discussions that are going on in the committee. The committee considers each individual nominee on his or her own merits.”

The 2025 laureate is scheduled to be announced on October 10. Several foreign leaders, including 'Israel’s' Benjamin Netanyahu and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, have either nominated Trump or publicly supported his nomination. However, nominations for this year’s prize had to be submitted by January 31, only 11 days after Trump took office, making his inclusion unlikely.

Berg Harpviken underscored that “to be nominated is not necessarily a great achievement. The great achievement is to become a laureate.” Eligible nominators include parliament members, cabinet ministers, former laureates, and select university professors, meaning thousands of individuals worldwide can submit names.

This year, the committee is considering 338 candidates, a list kept secret for 50 years. Shortlisted nominees are evaluated by experts, with final discussions guided by research rather than media attention. “We are very aware that every year there are a number of campaigns, and we do our utmost to structure the process and the meetings in such a way that we are not unduly influenced by any campaign,” Berg Harpviken said.

Reports indicate Trump raised the Nobel Prize topic with Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg during a phone call in July, though it remains unclear if the discussion occurred.

Despite Trump’s efforts, experts in Norway see little chance of him winning. The five members of the Nobel Committee are appointed by Norway’s parliament but operate independently of political pressures. Past examples, such as awarding the 2010 prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo despite government warnings, underscore the committee’s autonomy.

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“The Nobel Committee acts entirely independently and cannot allow itself to take those considerations into account when it discusses individual candidates,” Berg Harpviken said. Analysts note that Trump’s “America First” policies and public admiration for leaders like Vladimir Putin further reduce his prospects.

Halvard Leira, research director at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, told AFP, “This type of pressure usually turns out to be counter-productive. If the committee were to give the prize to Trump now, it would obviously be accused of kowtowing.”

In August, three Nobel historians publicly outlined multiple reasons why Trump should not receive the award, citing his stance on international conflicts and foreign leaders. “The members of the Nobel Committee would have to have lost their minds,” they wrote in an op-ed.