Trump’s Nobel Prize ambitions: Most Americans say he doesn’t deserve it – how are numbers split?

Donald Trump (AP)

A majority of Americans believe US President Donald Trump does not deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize, according to a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month. The survey found that 76 per cent of respondents said Trump doesn’t merit the honor, while 22 per cent said he does, and around 2 per cent skipped the question.The findings come as Trump continues to campaign for the award, citing his claimed contributions to peace, including efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine. Speaking at the united nations general assembly recently, Trump said Russia would face “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” if President Vladimir Putin does not negotiate an end to the conflict.He also repeated his assertion – widely disputed – that his administration had “solved seven conflicts around the world.”Despite Trump’s push, public sentiment appears strongly against the idea. Among Republicans, opinion is split: 49 per cent say he deserves the prize, while 49 per cent disagree. Support is much lower among other political groups – only 14 per cent of independents and 3 per cent of Democrats back the idea. The poll also gauged public views on former President Barack Obama’s 2009 Nobel Peace Prize win. Only 41 per cent said Obama deserved the award, while 54 per cent said he did not, and 5 per cent skipped the question. This mirrors past data – a Gallup/USA Today poll conducted after Obama received the prize in 2009 found 61 per cent of Americans felt he hadn’t earned it.The selection of Nobel Peace Prize recipients is made by a five-member committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament. According to The Washington Post, at least three current members of the committee have publicly criticised Trump. Chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes had earlier expressed concern over Trump’s attacks on the media during the 2024 US presidential campaign, while another member claimed Trump was “well underway in dismantling American democracy.”The Washington Post-Ipsos poll was conducted online from September 11 to 15, surveying 2,513 US adults as part of Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel. The poll has a margin of error of ±2 percentage points.