Nobel Panel Signals Independence Amid Trump Peace Prize Campaign

Photo: White House

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC — On October 10, the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 will be officially announced, but ahead of that date, the Nobel Committee has signaled that media attention and public campaigns around a candidate—including Donald Trump—will not influence its decision.

The committee’s secretary, Kristian Berg Harpviken, told AFP that while there has been “a lot of media attention towards particular candidates,” it “really has no impact on the discussions that are going on in the committee.” He emphasized that each nominee is considered solely on their own merits, and that simply being nominated is not the same as winning.

Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ending seven wars, including conflicts between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. The White House and supporters—including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—have publicly nominated and backed Trump, citing his role in brokering peace and de-escalating hostilities. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also recently claimed that Trump’s intervention prevented a potential nuclear escalation between India and Pakistan.

According to The New York Times, a significant source of friction between the US and India has been the non-responsiveness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Trump’s hints for a nomination from India for the award. India has firmly rejected the US President’s claims that he settled and brought forth the ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the latter’s terror attack in Pahalgam.

Harpviken highlighted that nominations can come from a wide range of eligible parties, including parliamentarians, cabinet ministers, former laureates, and professors. This year, the committee will choose a laureate from a longlist of 338 individuals and organizations.

Harpviken also stressed that the committee’s decision-making is insulated from political pressure: “The Nobel Committee acts entirely independently and cannot allow itself to take those considerations into account when it discusses individual candidates.” Halvard Leira, research director at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, added that heavy public campaigns often backfire, saying, “If the committee were to give the prize to Trump now, it would obviously be accused of kowtowing” and compromising its independence.