Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has suggested that First Lady Melania Trump, alongside her husband President Trump, could be nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. She argued that Melania will be a “key reason” for reaching a peace agreement in Ukraine.
Newsweek reached out to the First Lady’s office for comment on Saturday by email.
Why It Matters
President Trump has already been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the governments of Rwanda, Israel, Gabon, Azerbaijan, and Cambodia, along with several private individuals.
In 2009, just eight months into his presidency, Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Earlier this year, Donald Trump Jr. called that decision “affirmative action.”
What To Know
Luna, who represents Florida’s 13th congressional district, was asked about the president’s Nobel nominations during a Fox News appearance on Friday.
When the host questioned whether “the Nobel Peace Prize committee people will actually come around,” Luna responded:
“Most certainly if the Nobel Peace Prize committee knows what’s good for them they’d [do the] right thing and nominate him, but also I think that Melania Trump might also have a nomination. I think she’s been very instrumental in discussions with Russia and also I think she’s going to be a key reason why we’re able to broker peace with Ukraine.”
According to the Nobel Peace Prize website, the award can be shared by up to three people or groups.
Earlier this month, President Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a letter from his wife during a summit in Alaska focused on the war in Ukraine.
The letter, provided to Newsweek by Melania Trump’s office, called on Putin to safeguard children. While Reuters reported the note was connected to Ukrainian children allegedly taken by Russian forces, the letter itself only spoke in general terms about protecting children.
Talks in Alaska did not produce a breakthrough, and Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have continued. On Thursday, a BBC report said an attack in Kyiv killed 23 people, including four children.
Meanwhile, U.S. military attention may be shifting closer to home. Recently, the U.S. deployed several warships and 4,500 troops off the coast of Venezuela. The White House said the move is aimed at drug cartels, but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the U.S. of preparing for an invasion.
Betting website Oddspedia currently gives Trump a 28.57 percent chance of winning the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. That places him alongside Russian human rights activist Yulia Navalnaya. The United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East follows with 14.29 percent, while Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms have 11.11 percent.
What People Are Saying
In her letter to Putin, Melania Trump wrote:
“As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few. Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded…
In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself. Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today.”
Earlier this week, Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy to the Middle East, also pushed for Trump to receive the award. At a Cabinet meeting, he said:
“There’s only one thing I wish for—that the Nobel committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since this Nobel award was ever talked about. Your success is game-changing out in the world today, and I hope everybody wakes up and realizes that.”
What Happens Next
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced later this year by the Nobel Committee.
