U.S. President Donald Trump aired one of his oldest grievances at the United Nations that it’s unfair he never got the Nobel peace prize.
“I would get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they give it out fairly, which they don’t,” he complained.
Trump went on to raise the surprise awarding of the one of the world’s most prestigious accolades in 2009 to his predecessor in the White House Barack Obama. Then-president Obama was given the peace prize for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people,” even though he had only just assumed office.
When Trump met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a reporter from the Pakistani press corps asked him about mediating the India-Pakistan standoff over the disputed region of Kashmir.
When the journalist then told Trump he would deserve a Nobel Prize if he could resolve the dispute, the president readily agreed.
He confidently replied: “I think I’ll get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things – if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t.
“If they gave it out fairly… well they gave one to Obama, immediately upon his ascent to the presidency, and he had no idea why he got it.
Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.
The Committee attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons. Trump was last year nominated for the prize for his work easing nuclear tensions with North Korea.
