President Trump: Obama ‘did nothing’ but still won the Nobel Peace Prize

President Trump criticized his predecessor Obama for “doing nothing” and “destroying the country” but still being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

“He got an award for doing nothing. Obama got an award that he doesn’t even know what it is. They gave it to Obama because he did nothing but destroy the country,” US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on October 9.

US President Donald Trump at the White House on October 9. Photo: AP

Former President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, eight months after his first term in office, for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” even though the US was still conducting military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This incident caused controversy and the New York Times commented that the prestigious award came to Mr. Obama “too soon”, it “should have had a higher standard”.

“I’ve stopped eight conflicts, which never happened. But they do what they want. They can do whatever they want. I didn’t do it for the prize, I did it to save lives,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Nobel Peace Committee.

Former President Obama has not responded to Mr. Trump’s statement.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be announced at 11am on October 10 (4pm Hanoi time) in Oslo, Norway. The nomination period for this award ended on January 31.

President Trump has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, though experts say his chances are slim. He has been nominated by international officials for the prize for his role in ending conflicts such as those between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Cambodia and Thailand. In recent days, Trump has been pushing for Hamas and Israel to agree on phase one of a peace deal.