http://en.granma.cu/
A Nobel Peace Prize for Trump is a terrible joke
The history of the Nobel Peace Prize includes several unlikely recipients. Awarding the Prize to Trump would represent a coup de grâce for the Norwegian Academy
Author: Elson Concepción Pérez | internet@granma.cu
june 18, 2018 15:06:43

Since he assumed the Presidency of the United States, Donald Trump has threatened several countries with the use of military force. Pictured announcing increased defense spending on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: EFE

WHILE anything can happen in this world, I would prefer to think that it is only a joke that U.S. President Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
A group of 18 Republican Party congressmen sent a letter to the chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to nominate Trump “in recognition of his work to end the Korean War, denuclearize the Korean peninsula, and bring peace to the region.”
The history of the Nobel Peace Prize includes several unlikely recipients. But Trump would be the most preposterous proposal yet and, if awarded, would represent a coup de grâce for the Norwegian Academy.

Regardless of whether he gets it or not, the proposal reflects how the power elites of the United States act.
Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, and withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change – announced in one of the tycoon’s many buffoonish and unpresidential performances – to mention just a few examples, count for nothing.
What peace can the Congressmen nominating Trump speak of? That of the man who orders bombings of Syria, causing the death of hundreds of civilians, including women and children?
Or even more recently, the Trump who arrogantly moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, provoked another Israeli massacre of the Palestinian population, and then vetoed a possible UN Resolution condemning the Zionist government for the carnage.
The Nobel Peace Prize, honorable when awarded to personalities such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, South African leader Nelson Mandela, or civil rights activist Martin Luther King, would definitively lose its raison d’être, should the undeserving Trump be awarded.
Just for curiosity’s sake, I reproduce below the argument offered to BBC Mundo by Steve King, one of the Congressmen who signed, along with 17 others with equal responsibility, the letter requesting the award for the current U.S. President.
I quote: “This came to my mind in the hour, perhaps in the minutes, after I learned that President Trump had accepted the invitation of [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un to have discussions and negotiations on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” And he added: “I thought, well, Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize and to this day we don’t know why, except that he was elected President of the United States.”
According to the same article, when asked about the possibility, Trump offered a reserved response for someone who usually likes to highlight and exaggerate his achievements.
“Everyone thinks so, but I would never say that,” he replied, smiling, “The prize I want is a victory for the world.”
His supporters were less reserved, shouting “Nobel!” over and again during a public act with the President in Michigan. Meanwhile, his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said he had assured the tycoon: “You’re going to get the Nobel Peace Prize.”
The end of this horror film may well be the Nobel Prize for Trump, or simply a raspberry for those who nominated him… a terrible joke.