Yet more than seven months into his term, President Donald Trump has been unable to bring an end to two of the world’s deadliest ongoing conflicts.
On one front, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly ignored deadlines to end his war against Ukraine, joining other authoritarian leaders in China for a massive show of force against the West.
On the other, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign in Gaza has resulted in widespread famine and prompted a growing number of nations to support Palestinian statehood.
Caught in between is a president who pledged to resolve both conflicts—and whose talk of a Nobel Peace Prize increasingly clashes with the grim realities in Gaza and Ukraine.
Trump maintains that his goal is simply to stop the bloodshed. He insists he isn’t chasing what many consider the world’s most prestigious award.
“You can’t put yourself in that position,” Trump told The Daily Caller on Aug. 29. “But I can say this, nobody’s done in history what I’ve done.”
Even as progress stalls in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has repeatedly suggested he deserves a Nobel for brokering smaller conflicts during his two terms. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Oct. 10 in Oslo, Norway.
“They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize,” Trump said during a Feb. 4 meeting with Netanyahu. “It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents a Nobel Peace Prize nomination letter to President Donald Trump during a White House dinner in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025. Photo by Kevin Lamarque, REUTERS.
A surprise Norwegian call?
In August, Norway’s Dagens Næringsliv reported that Trump had made an unplanned call to Norway’s finance minister, Jens Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg told Reuters the conversation focused on tariffs and economic cooperation, declining to share further details. (The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides the Peace Prize, is appointed by Norway’s parliament.)
Trump’s Nobel fixation has drawn mockery from critics.
“Trump is begging foreign leaders to put him up for the Nobel Prize. Have we ever had a president so pathetic? Does that sound like someone firing on all cylinders?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a Sept. 2 post on X.
Trump is begging foreign leaders to put him up for the Nobel Prize.
Have we ever had a president so pathetic?
Does that sound like someone who’s firing on all cylinders? pic.twitter.com/uzCyuqagZY
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 2, 2025
Trump the peacemaker
Trump claims credit for ending seven wars, counting conflicts he says were prevented due to his intervention. These include halting clashes between Israel and Iran after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites, and agreements involving Thailand-Cambodia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Egypt-Ethiopia, and Serbia-Kosovo.
“No president in history has done more to advance the cause of peace,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Aug. 29, citing Trump’s Nobel nominations in response to questions about his dealings with Putin (addressing Trump’s claims about ending multiple wars).
Foreign policy experts, however, note that some examples, like the Serbia-Kosovo deal, were primarily an economic normalization agreement, not wars.
Trump’s role in India-Pakistan cross-border tensions is also disputed by New Delhi, though Pakistan nominated him for the Nobel, praising his “stellar statesmanship.”
Trump has expressed frustration at the idea he might never receive the award. “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do…”
Amid Nobel chatter, he has also proposed renaming the U.S. Defense Department the Department of War.
In Obama’s footsteps?
Only four U.S. presidents have won the Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.
“He’s done a lot more to earn the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama did when he got it. So I imagine it’s probably frustrating for him,” said Leslie Shedd.
Council for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analyst Jon Alterman noted that past winners often spent years negotiating peace before receiving the award.
“It’s partly about timing. It’s partly about circumstances. It’s partly about relationships,” he said. “What it’s not about is just coming up with a perfect formula and we’re done.”
No ‘capitulation’ prize
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would personally nominate him if he could end the Ukraine war without conceding territory to Russia.
“But a peace forged on Russian terms is unlikely to win Trump a Nobel Peace Prize: one doesn’t get the prize for capitulation,” wrote Council on Foreign Relations President Michael Froman.
After his Alaska summit with Putin in August, Trump was caught on a hot mic telling French President Emmanuel Macron that he would only meet Putin if he comes to Moscow. Zelenskyy responded that it was an obvious trap.
Trump has repeatedly touted his “very good relationship” with Putin, suggesting as recently as Sept. 3 that it “would be much easier” to end the war, which he once claimed he could resolve in a single day.
‘Too eager’?
Alterman said showing too much eagerness in negotiations can backfire.
In Netanyahu’s case, who has resisted international pressure to halt his Gaza offensive amid more than 60,000 Palestinian deaths, the Israeli leader sees the fight as existential.
“For many Israelis, the events of October 7 reinforced that there’s no cure for Palestinian hostility,” Alterman said.
Trump has issued ultimatums to Hamas, warning of “hell to pay” if hostages weren’t released. On Sept. 3, he urged Israel to “tell Hamas to IMMEDIATELY give back” roughly 20 living hostages, promising, “things will change rapidly. IT WILL END!”
‘What a bloody mess’
Reflecting on Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, Trump said it was time for Netanyahu to wrap up his military campaign.
“That was about as bad as it gets, and nobody can forget that,” he said. “With that being said, it’s got to get over with.”
Meanwhile, Australia plans to recognize a Palestinian state along with other nations at the U.N. General Assembly, where Trump is scheduled to speak on Sept. 23.
As Putin missed yet another Trump-imposed deadline, the president expressed disappointment on Sept. 2 but said talks would continue.
“Sometimes you never know with war,” he said the following day. “War is complex and dangerous and – and what a mess. What a bloody mess,” according to usatoday.
