As Donald Trump prepares to meet Vladimir Putin, renewed claims from his camp that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize have sparked outrage and ridicule.
Christopher Bucktin is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience, the majority of which he has spent at the Daily Mirror. A former Press Gazette Reporter of the Year, he has held senior roles including Head of Features, Head of Showbusiness, and Head of Content, before relocating to the United States in 2013 to become US Editor. Renowned for breaking agenda-setting exclusives, he has reported from the front lines of America’s biggest news stories, led investigations into the Trump administration, and exposed key details in the Jeffrey Epstein case. His career highlights include securing the first interview with the Peru Two inside prison, becoming the first journalist to descend into drug lord El Chapo’s escape tunnel, and spearheading coverage of Prince Andrew’s ties to Epstein. He holds weekly columns in the Daily Mirror, Daily Star and Reach’s regional titles.
As Donald Trump gears up for yet another ego-fuelled photo op with Vladimir Putin, his MAGA cheerleaders are out floating the idea that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize.
It’s not just delusional, it’s reckless, embarrassing, and frankly dangerous.
You only need to look at last week, when White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stood, straight-faced, and declared it was “well past time” Trump received the honour to realise how shameless her pitch was. As if it’s some overdue library book, and not the world’s most respected peace accolade. You could almost hear the sound of Alfred Nobel rolling in his grave.
Leavitt, never one to let facts get in the way of sycophancy, proudly declared Trump had “brokered one peace deal or ceasefire per month” since his return to office in January.
She then rattled off a list of “conflicts” that sound more like the plotlines of a B-grade Netflix geopolitical thriller. Cambodia and Thailand. Serbia and Kosovo. Egypt and Ethiopia. And, the showstopper, India and Pakistan. Two nuclear powers whose animosity goes back decades. But sure, let’s pretend Trump waltzed in and everyone just hugged it out.
This isn’t just the usual Trumpian peacocking, it’s a full-blown delusion built on a foundation of ego, grudge, and a weirdly obsessive need to outshine Barack Obama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize back in 2009.
A fact that clearly still haunts Trump like a ghost in the West Wing.
But this isn’t just about a bruised ego. It’s about power. Image. Control. Trump’s “peace” strategy is a chaotic cocktail of tough-guy posturing, staged pressers, and alliances with strongmen that leave actual diplomacy in the dust.
And then, just when you think the spin couldn’t get any worse, Leavitt cited Iran, yes, the country Trump ordered military strikes on, as proof of his peacemaking credentials.
In what twisted, alternate universe does bombing a nation qualify someone for the Peace Prize?
Predictably missing from the highlight reel: Ukraine and Gaza.
Trump has claimed, repeatedly, and with increasing desperation, that he could end the war in Ukraine “on day one.” It’s now been many months. And the war rages on.
As for Gaza? American weapons keep flowing, civilian casualties pile up, and Trump? He’s either asleep at the wheel or just doesn’t care. As long as it doesn’t cost him politically, he’ll let others burn.
Now comes the big Putin moment. The world would do well to pay attention. This is the same Trump who once publicly sided with Putin over his own intelligence agencies, called the Russian autocrat a “genius” for invading Ukraine, and fawned over him like a fanboy at a dictator convention.
If the Nobel Peace Prize is meant to reward those who bring people together, Trump isn’t just undeserving; he’s the antithesis. He’s turned international diplomacy into reality TV, where the only thing that matters is airtime.
If Trump really wants an award, give him a mirror. That way, he can finally talk to the only person he truly believes deserves one.
