Minara Helen: President Trump insisted Monday he does not care about the Nobel Peace Prize but maintained that Norway “controlled” the award despite the country’s leaders denying any involvement in deciding who receives the prize.
“I don’t care about the Nobel Prize,” Trump told reporters.
“First of all, a very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel Prize, and I appreciate that,” he added, referring to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s decision to give her 18-carat gold medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House last week.
That move, though not mentioned directly, prompted the Nobel committee to note that while the symbols of the prize, a medal and diploma, can be given away the honor itself is “inseparably linked” to the winner.
Trump’s comments came days after he linked the prize — which he has long coveted — to his aspirations to acquire Greenland in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minster Jonas Gahr Støre, writing that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace.”
“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” the president wrote, according to News Nation.
Støre clarified in a statement on Monday that the Norwegian government holds no sway over who is receives the Peace Prize.
“As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government,’ the prime minister wrote.
Speaking to reporters on Monday night, Trump rejected that notion.
“If anybody thinks that Norway doesn’t control the Nobel Prize, they’re just kidding,” he said. “They have a board, but it’s controlled by Norway. And I don’t care what Norway said.”
The president spent months publicly lobbying to win the Peace Prize before it was awarded to Machado, often claiming he deserved it because he had helped to end several wars.
“But I really don’t care about [the Nobel Prize],” Trump insisted Monday. “What I care about is saving lives. And I think I’ve saved tens of millions of lives … we stopped eight wars, and maybe we’ll be stopping a ninth very soon, we’ll see.”
The Trump administration has ratcheted up the pressure on European countries in recent weeks as the president eyes a U.S. takeover of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. He announced Saturday that he would implement a 10 percent tariff on Denmark and its allies starting Feb. 1, and potentially raising to 25 percent in June, until a deal is reached.
The president and other senior U.S. officials have argued that the island must come under U.S. ownership to protect national security interests and thwart threats from Russia and China in the Arctic region.
Trump has not ruled out the possibility of using military force, despite strong opposition from Americans and warnings that such action could mean the end of the longstanding NATO alliance.
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BP/SM
