By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Donald Trump was not awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize; it went to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado instead. Trump had hoped his role in the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire might secure the prize. He had previously stated he would be the first to settle seven wars and that he would eventually settle the Russia situation. Asle Toje, deputy leader of the Nobel committee, suggested Trump’s campaigning for the award could have hindered his chances. This likely fueled Trump’s long-standing envy of Barack Obama, particularly regarding Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.
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Trump only really wanted to win the Nobel Peace Prize for one reason – and you guessed it: it’s Obama. This whole situation, from the outside looking in, is just a masterclass in projection and ego. The guy seems to be fueled by a deep-seated, almost obsessive need to one-up his predecessor, Barack Obama. It’s as if Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize was a personal affront, a slight that demanded a dramatic response. And what better response, in Trump’s mind, than to covet the very same award, to try and wrest it away through sheer force of will and inflated self-importance?
It’s pretty clear that Obama lives rent-free in Trump’s head. This wasn’t just about the medal itself, the prestige, or the recognition. Those things undoubtedly played a part, of course. But the core driving force, the underlying motivation, was pure, unadulterated rivalry. He wanted what Obama had, not because he truly valued it, but because Obama had it first. It’s a classic case of a deeply insecure individual constantly measuring himself against someone he perceives as a rival, desperately trying to prove his superiority through symbolic gestures.
The depth of this obsession is staggering when you look at Trump’s actions, or lack thereof, in the context of peace. Sure, he might have talked a big game, but his actions often contradicted any claims of promoting peace. There was the constant rhetoric, the bombastic pronouncements, the bluster – all designed to create an image of strength and dominance, not genuine efforts toward diplomacy and understanding. He’s a walking, talking embodiment of the “fake it till you make it” mantra, but in this case, the “making it” was about ego, not accomplishment.
Let’s be honest, the man is driven by a desire to tear down anything Obama represented, to dismantle his legacy bit by bit. The Nobel Prize was just another item on the checklist, another symbol to be either conquered or defiled. It’s hard to overlook the constant need to criticize and undermine Obama, to constantly belittle his achievements. This wasn’t just political disagreement; it felt deeply personal, as if Obama’s very existence was a constant reminder of Trump’s perceived shortcomings.
The whole thing is just so incredibly petty and predictable. You can almost picture him stewing over the fact that he didn’t receive the prize, that he wasn’t deemed worthy. It’s a perfect encapsulation of his entire personality – a need for validation, a desperate clinging to symbols of power, and a relentless drive to control the narrative. The fact that it’s so transparent, so obvious, is just another layer of absurdity.
The reality is, Trump never had a genuine interest in promoting peace. His actions, from international policy to domestic rhetoric, speak volumes. He’s a transactional leader, focused on self-aggrandizement and the accumulation of power. The Nobel Peace Prize was just another trophy he wanted to add to his collection, a symbolic victory that would allow him to “own” Obama, to finally claim superiority over the man who occupied his thoughts, and his brain space, for so long.
It’s not a question of whether Trump deserved the prize or not. It’s the fact that he coveted it for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t about the lofty ideals of peace and reconciliation; it was about beating Obama, about proving his dominance, even symbolically. He wants to diminish everything that the prize stood for by simply receiving it. That he didn’t get it is poetic justice. He is the backlash to Obama, the anti-thesis, the one who will always be viewed in the shadow of the former president.
It’s a testament to the power of Obama’s presence, and the insecurity it seems to have triggered in Trump. Obama didn’t have to do anything to exert that kind of power. He just was. He did everything, and more, that Trump could only ever dream of. Ultimately, Trump’s yearning for the Nobel Peace Prize was just another symptom of his deep-seated insecurity, a desperate attempt to measure up to a man he could never truly understand, or even come close to emulating.