Donald Trump Says Barack Obama Got the Nobel Peace Prize for ‘Doing Nothing’

President Donald Trump sharply criticized former President Barack Obama just hours before learning that he would not be awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Oct. 9, Trump denounced Obama’s 2009 win, claiming his predecessor had been honored without merit.

“He got a prize for doing nothing,” said Trump, 79. “Obama got a prize, he didn’t even know what he got. He got elected and they gave it to Obama for doing absolutely nothing but destroying our country.”

Trump went on to argue that his 2024 reelection was “much more important” than Obama’s historic 2008 victory.

When Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize early in his presidency, the Nobel Committee cited his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The committee praised his initiatives to reduce nuclear weapons, build relationships with Muslim nations, support human rights and democracy, and promote unity across ethnic, religious, and political divides.

On Oct. 10, the committee instead awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

Following the announcement, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung shared a statement on X addressing Trump’s loss.

“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” Cheung wrote. “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

In the days leading up to the award’s announcement, Trump had used his Truth Social platform to post interviews and media segments highlighting his international achievements — a clear attempt to bolster his case for the honor.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich compared Trump’s global influence to that of historic leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during an interview with Fox News.

“He is achieving an orchestration of all of the major Arab states in order to support a peace agreement, and he is bringing enough pressure to bear on [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu that the Israelis are going to go along whether they wanted to or not,” Gingrich said. “And as a result, he’s creating sort of a forge of peace out of the sheer pressure of his personality and his ability to create friendships.”

Trump has pursued the Nobel Prize for years, having been nominated multiple times but never selected.

Since returning to office in January, he has again received nominations from several international allies, though most missed the formal Jan. 31 deadline.

During a July visit to the White House, Netanyahu submitted a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee nominating Trump for the award. The letter, later made public, praised Trump’s “steadfast and exceptional dedication to promoting peace, security and stability around the world,” particularly in the Middle East.

Amid his self-promoted Nobel campaign, Trump claimed credit for ending seven “unendable wars,” according to The Guardian. He made the assertion during a speech at the United Nations in September.

World leaders were later caught on camera mocking Trump after he mistakenly said he had negotiated peace between “Aber-baijan and Albania,” when he meant “Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

After brokering the first phase of a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas this week, Trump told reporters that he had now resolved an “eighth” conflict.

“Nobody in history has solved eight wars in a period of nine months. And I’ve stopped eight wars. That’s never happened before,” Trump said in a video shared online. “I know this — I didn’t do it for that [winning the Nobel Peace Prize]. I did it because I saved a lot of lives.”

He added that he would continue working toward a peaceful resolution between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump previously stated that he expected never to be chosen for the award. “It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me,” he said in February, according to USA Today.

In August, Norwegian outlet Dagens Næringsliv reported that Trump had contacted Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg to advocate for his candidacy — while also discussing tariff negotiations.

“Out of the blue, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called,” DN reported, citing sources. “He wanted the Nobel Prize — and to discuss tariffs.”

Machado’s win comes during a period of strained relations between the United States and Venezuela. The two leaders, however, share some ideological common ground.

Trump has taken a hardline stance against Venezuela, vowing to use “every element of American power” to curb the alleged flow of drugs from the country into the U.S., according to The New York Times. His administration has also targeted ships accused of trafficking narcotics, sometimes bombing them in international waters.

The Independent noted that Machado, who is also conservative, has praised Trump’s policies.

“I totally support his strategy,” she said. “And I’ve said on behalf of the Venezuelan people that we are very grateful. I think it is the right thing to do. It’s courageous. It’s visionary.”

The Nobel Peace Prize has previously been awarded to four U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.