As President Donald Trump enters the thick of his second term, a familiar ambition appears to be driving his foreign policy agenda: the pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump "wants the Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else," and this quest is shaping not only his diplomatic efforts but also the strategies of those around him. With high-profile summits, headline-grabbing peace deals, and a renewed focus on longstanding political grudges, the president’s actions on the world stage are drawing both skepticism and intrigue from critics and allies alike.
In recent months, Trump has stepped up his involvement in several global conflicts, positioning himself as a broker for peace in hotspots from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia. His latest moves include hosting the signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia at the White House on August 8, 2025, and facilitating a deal between Congo and Rwanda. He’s also been vocal about his role in halting clashes between India and Pakistan, much to the chagrin of Indian leaders and citizens, who were reportedly upset by his claims of credit in mediating a ceasefire after border skirmishes in May.
Bolton, never one to mince words, shared his assessment in an interview with ABC’s This Week on Sunday. He argued that while Trump’s efforts are highly publicized, they haven’t led to substantial changes on the ground. “I don’t think what he has done materially changes the situation in any of those circumstances, or several others he’s mentioned, like Pakistan/India, where the Indians, not just the government, the entire country are outraged that he tried to take credit for [a peace agreement],” Bolton said, as reported by The Independent. He added, “The way to his heart? Offer to nominate him.”
This sentiment is echoed by other figures in Trump’s orbit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol have all alluded to the possibility of nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. According to Bolton, leaders like Netanyahu have discovered that “the way to his heart is to offer to nominate him.”
Trump’s most recent diplomatic spectacle—the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia—culminated in a deal that establishes a major trade and transit corridor dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” This new corridor will connect mainland Azerbaijan with the autonomous Nakhchivan region, fulfilling a key objective for Azerbaijan in the peace negotiations. While Trump has boasted of his role in brokering the agreement, the deal itself builds upon an earlier peace process moderated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and prior agreements signed by the two countries.
Trump’s efforts in Southeast Asia have followed a similar pattern. In the case of the Thailand-Cambodia conflict, he threatened tariffs if the two nations failed to reach an agreement. Though a deal was signed, Bolton remains unconvinced of its impact, stating, “They’ve signed a deal. Nothing has changed.”
The president’s fixation on the Nobel Peace Prize is hardly new, but it has intensified in the wake of Barack Obama’s receipt of the award during his first year in office. Trump’s frustration over this point is well documented. At a Detroit Economic Club event last year, he remarked, “If I were named Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds.” As The New York Times noted, Trump has both publicly and privately complained about not being honored in the same way as his predecessor. Bolton, speaking to the Times in March, said, “He saw that Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize and felt if Obama got it for not doing anything, why should he not get it?”
This rivalry with Obama, often described as Trump’s most persistent political grudge, appears to fuel not just his foreign policy but also his domestic political maneuvers. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Attorney General Pam Bondi have recently ramped up efforts to revisit the so-called “Russiagate” investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Moscow. Gabbard has echoed Trump’s accusations that the Obama administration’s response to Russian election interference amounted to a “coup,” while Bondi has opened a grand jury probe into the matter, despite previous Department of Justice reviews finding no criminal wrongdoing. No charges have been filed against Obama or any other officials to date.
The intertwining of Trump’s foreign policy ambitions and his long-standing rivalry with Obama has not gone unnoticed by political observers. Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele wrote in an MSNBC op-ed, “It’s clear that Obama has been living in Trump’s head rent-free for the last two decades. Some think he first ran for president because Obama made fun of him at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. He mistakenly called Biden by Obama’s name multiple times while campaigning, once even saying he beat Obama in 2016.” Steele further noted, “Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize? Trump spends years obsessing about winning it himself.”
Despite the high-profile announcements and orchestrated ceremonies, the international community remains skeptical about the actual impact of Trump’s peacemaking. While his administration has had some success pressuring trading partners through “reciprocal” tariffs, his promises to swiftly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza have yet to materialize. The ongoing war in Ukraine, now entering its third year, and the siege of Gaza caused by Israel’s blockade, remain unresolved. As The Independent observed, “The international community waits to see whether this grudge-turned-ambition will propel Trump to actually force the end of a three-year war in Ukraine or the bloody siege and starvation of Gaza caused by Israel’s blockade, or whether he will once again be frustrated by the realities that have thwarted his efforts so far.”
Trump’s approach to foreign policy—marked by grand gestures, personal rivalries, and a relentless drive for recognition—has drawn both admiration from supporters and criticism from detractors. Bolton, for his part, remains unswayed by the spectacle, insisting that the president’s actions have yet to deliver meaningful change in the world’s most intractable conflicts. Yet for Trump, the quest for the Nobel Peace Prize appears as much about personal vindication as it is about global peace. Whether this ambition will translate into lasting diplomatic achievements or remain another chapter in his ongoing feud with Obama is a question the world continues to watch with keen interest.
In a world where symbolism and substance often collide, Trump’s pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize stands as a vivid illustration of how personal ambition and international diplomacy can become deeply intertwined, leaving allies and adversaries alike guessing what comes next.
