President Donald Trump has criticized Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize while celebrating his role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, calling it a “historic peace deal.”
Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday with Finland’s Prime Minister present, Trump took aim at Obama’s 2009 Nobel win, saying, “He got a prize for doing nothing.”
Obama received the award just eight months into his presidency, a decision that drew widespread debate at the time.
Trump went further, claiming, “They gave it to Obama for absolutely nothing but destroying our country.”
The comments came as Trump praised the U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Hamas, which he says has ended two years of intense conflict in Gaza.
He announced plans to travel to Egypt soon for the official signing ceremony.
“I’ve stopped eight wars, that’s never happened before,” Trump said. “But I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it because I saved a lot of lives.”
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner is set to be announced today in Oslo, Norway.
Despite his recent diplomatic win, Trump isn’t considered a favorite, with prediction market Kalshi giving him just a 5 percent chance.
The leading contender is Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a volunteer network providing medical and humanitarian aid during Sudan’s brutal conflict that began in April 2023.
Trump’s Gaza agreement represents a major breakthrough after two years of violence that have killed over 70,000 Palestinians following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and saw 250 people taken hostage.
The president confirmed that the remaining hostages, about 20 survivors, will be released early next week.
“I’ll be there,” Trump said.
Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya backed up the deal’s significance, stating, “We have received assurances from the brotherly mediators and the U.S. administration that the war is completely over.”
