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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Donald Trump Jr. has said that Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize while his father has not is the result of "affirmative action."
President Donald Trump's eldest son wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday: "Affirmative action is when Barack Obama gets the Nobel Peace Prize instead of Donald Trump."
Newsweek contacted Obama's representatives for comment by email outside of regular working hours.
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Why It Matters
Trump has renewed his long-standing grievance over not being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in recent days.
On Friday, Trump cited a peace deal he said his administration helped broker between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda as evidence of his worthiness, before declaring that he would be overlooked for the honor "no matter what" he accomplishes.
What To Know
Trump Jr.'s intervention comes as a number of individuals have suggested that the president should win the prize for his recent foreign policy interventions, even though the deadline for nominations was in January.
Senator Katie Britt of Alabama said Trump's actions in the Middle East - including announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Tuesday - were deserving of the prize.
"President Trump is going to win the Nobel Peace Prize no doubt," Britt said on Fox News' Hannity. "You look at what he has done with the Congo in Rwanda, you look at where he is with Pakistan and India, and what he has done there, and then you look at this."
She added: "He has a brought piece to a region that needed stability... That's what we saw today, and look, Democrats do not know what to say. Their silence has never been louder... I think it's because President Trump just keeps winning and they don't know what to do."
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign committee who nominated Trump for the prize in November, told Newsweek this week that he had submitted his nomination withdrawal request.
He said he had "lost any sort of faith and belief" in Trump and his ability to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Obama won the prize in 2009, eight months into his presidential term for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said he had promoted nuclear non-proliferation and had successfully reached out to the Muslim world, changing the course of international relations.
On March 5, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced that 338 candidates had been nominated for this year's prize, including 244 individuals and 94 organizations— a drastic increase from the 286 nominees in 2024. Four U.S. presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
What People Are Saying
Scott Lucas, professor of international politics at University College Dublin, told Newsweek that Trump not getting a prize was damaging his "ego."
"The entire presidency is premised on the fact that Donald Trump's ego has to be flagged that he is successful and Barack Obama is not. You talk about jealousy combined with, lets be honest here, racism, a government run by narcissism," he said.
Trump wrote on Truth Social last week: "I am very happy to report that I have arranged, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a wonderful Treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Rwanda, in their War, which was known for violent bloodshed and death, more so even than most other Wars, and has gone on for decades. Representatives from Rwanda and the Congo will be in Washington on Monday to sign Documents.
"This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World! I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for this, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia (A massive Ethiopian built dam, stupidly financed by the United States of America, substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River), and I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which, if all goes well, will be loaded to the brim with additional Countries signing on, and will unify the Middle East for the first time in 'The Ages!' No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that's all that matters to me!"
What Happens Next
The Nobel Peace Prize laureates will be announced on October 10, and the award ceremony will be held on December 10 in Oslo, Norway.
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