As President Donald Trump prepares for a high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025, a swirl of anticipation surrounds not just the prospects for peace in Ukraine but also Trump’s ever-intensifying campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize. Over the past months, the White House has amplified Trump’s image as a global peacemaker, touting his involvement in resolving conflicts that have stymied world leaders for decades. Yet, critics and allies alike are watching closely to see whether Trump’s diplomatic gambits will yield a breakthrough—or simply burnish his own legacy.
According to NBC News, Trump and his aides have ramped up a public campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize, pointing to his role in mediating disputes between countries as diverse as Israel and Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. White House officials have cited “worldwide calls” from several of these nations’ leaders for Trump to win the coveted prize. The president himself has not been shy about his ambitions. “I’ve solved six wars in the last six months, a little more than six months now, and I’m very proud of it,” Trump said in the Oval Office on August 14, 2025, as reported by Politico.
Trump’s efforts extend to other hotspots as well. He has repeatedly highlighted his attempts to end tensions between India and Pakistan, though, as NBC News notes, Indian officials have downplayed the impact of his mediation. Still, the administration’s messaging is clear: Trump is positioning himself as a peacemaker on the world stage, a narrative reinforced by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who mentioned Trump’s Nobel credentials in three of four briefings in July—an uptick from previous months.
The Nobel campaign has seeped into Trump’s social media presence, too. Since the start of his second term, he has posted about the prize seven times, with a flurry of activity in June and July 2025. In one Truth Social post from June, Trump lamented, “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.”
Bookmakers have taken notice of the shifting political winds. As Newsweek reports, Oddspedia now lists Trump as the joint favorite for the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Each is given a 28.6 percent chance of winning—up dramatically from a low of 10.6 percent in July, when Trump’s efforts to negotiate peace in Ukraine and Gaza had yet to yield results. The field also includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Doctors Without Borders, Greta Thunberg, Julian Assange, Elon Musk, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Shing Mon Chung, an Oddspedia spokesperson, told Newsweek, “Trump is treating the prize like an active campaign. When you’ve got a U.S. president meeting Putin on American soil for the first time in a decade, traders pay attention. This geopolitical theatre moves odds because it feels like a make-or-break play.”
Trump’s upcoming meeting with Putin is, by all accounts, his most daunting diplomatic test yet. The summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage has been described by Trump as a “feel-out” to gauge Putin’s interest in peace. On August 13, Trump told European leaders that he does not intend to discuss possible territorial divisions with Putin, according to NBC News. He also warned on Fox News Radio that Putin would face “very severe consequences” if he refused to end the war in Ukraine after the summit. Putin, for his part, has sounded cautiously optimistic, stating that Trump is making “energetic and sincere efforts” toward peace in Ukraine.
Yet, the path to peace remains fraught. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected any ceasefire that would require withdrawing troops from the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk—territories currently under fierce assault by Russian forces attempting to seize the town of Pokrovsk. Zelensky wrote on Telegram, “Putin is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. He is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before, applying the same pressure on Ukraine.”
According to Politico, Trump’s pivot to global peacemaking marks a sharp contrast with his 2024 campaign, which emphasized an “America First” approach and downplayed international engagement. Since returning to the White House, Trump has reportedly become more attuned to the complexities of global conflicts, a shift attributed to the intelligence briefings he now receives. “There’s only so much that you know on the campaign trail and then when you get into the West Wing, you understand what the hell is actually happening in the world,” a senior White House official told Politico.
Trump’s approach, however, is not without controversy. Critics, including his former national security adviser John Bolton, question the sincerity and durability of some agreements. Bolton pointed to the Cambodia-Thailand deal, where violence reportedly resumed soon after a ceasefire was signed. “He got them to sign a ceasefire to make sure they could get their trade deals done,” Bolton said. “Maybe the ceasefire will last more than a few days. Who knows? The underlying causes of the tension, the border issues have not been resolved.”
The Nobel Peace Prize has become a diplomatic tool for both Trump and foreign leaders. At least six world leaders—including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet—have nominated or endorsed Trump for the honor. Manet’s support followed Trump’s intervention in a Cambodia-Thailand border dispute, reportedly using the threat of halting trade negotiations to bring both sides to the table. Trump has even gone so far as to cold-call the Norwegian finance minister to inquire about the nomination process, according to Politico.
For all the fanfare, the details of Trump’s strategic involvement in these deals remain murky. While the White House touts a string of successes, some of Trump’s claims are disputed by officials on the ground. In the case of India and Pakistan, for example, an Indian official denied that Trump’s mediation played a decisive role. And in several instances, the permanence of peace agreements remains in doubt.
Still, Trump’s supporters argue that his transactional approach—tying peace accords to trade deals—has produced tangible benefits for the United States. “With every one of these peace agreements, there has been some economic benefit to America,” a White House official told Politico. The president’s allies also emphasize that his hands-on style represents a break from previous administrations, with Trump exerting direct pressure on both governments and corporations to achieve his aims.
As the world waits for the outcome of the Anchorage summit, the stakes could hardly be higher. Trump’s Nobel ambitions, his self-styled role as a “kingmaker,” and the prospect of peace in Ukraine are all on the line. Whether this latest diplomatic push will yield history-making results—or simply another headline in the president’s long quest for recognition—remains to be seen.
