Nobel Peace Prize chair addresses Trump’s campaign for the award

Nobel Committee chair addresses Trump’s push for Peace Prize amid Machado’s win

The chair of the Nobel Peace Prize committee responded Friday to President Donald Trump’s ongoing public campaign to win the award, underscoring that the committee’s decisions are guided by independence and principle.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado as the 2025 Peace Prize winner, calling her an “extraordinary example of civilian courage” against an authoritarian state.

“This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity,” Frydnes said when asked about Trump’s lobbying efforts. “We base our decision solely on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

To summarize:

Reporter: Why didn’t Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize?

Nobel Chair: the award only goes to people of courage and integrity.

*mic drop* 🫳🎤 pic.twitter.com/3PxWwZwPD0

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) October 10, 2025

The announcement came amid global attention surrounding Trump’s pressure campaign for the prize, which he has long claimed he deserves for his efforts to broker peace agreements, including the Abraham Accords.

Trump has repeatedly asserted that he has “ended seven wars” during his first seven months back in office, though several of those conflicts remain ongoing.

Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and White House communications director, accused the Nobel Committee of choosing “politics over peace” in awarding the honor to Machado. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” Cheung wrote in a post on X.

Frydnes described Machado as a unifying figure who continues to lead Venezuela’s opposition under threat, praising her decision to remain in the country despite having gone into hiding for safety. He said her commitment “inspires millions.”

In selecting Machado, Frydnes noted that the Nobel Committee sought to highlight growing threats to democracy and the global rise of authoritarianism.

“Living in a world where we have less and less democracies and more and more authoritarian regimes means that the world is also getting more unsafe,” he said. “We believe that democracy is a precondition for peace.”