Dear Commons Community,

President Trump told reporters at the United Nations yesterday that he was deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize.

“I think I would get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t,” Trump said following a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

As do many U.S. conservatives, Trump then voiced frustration that former President Barack Obama received the award in 2009.

“Well, they gave one to Obama immediately upon his ascent to the presidency and he had no idea why he got it,” Trump said despite not being asked about his predecessor.

“You know what, that was the only thing I agreed with him on.”

Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize more than a year and a half into his first term of office. In its announcement, the committee said it was giving it to Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” and singled out his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.”

In his acceptance speech, Obama noted that it was unusual that he was receiving the prize at the beginning of his presidential term.

“Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize — Schweitzer and King, Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight,” Obama said.

But Obama also noted that “throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement. It’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes, and that’s why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.”

Trump sounds like he is losing his sense of reality!

Tony

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