Trump says Obama won Nobel Peace Prize 'for doing nothing but destroying our country'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump slammed former President Barack Obama and said that he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 "for doing nothing but destroying our country."

Obama received the prestigious award 16 years ago, eight months into his first term, in a decision that shocked the world as the New York Times said it was "very premature" and argued the Nobel "should have a higher bar."

Donald Trump says Barack Obama was 'not a good president'

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, October 9, "He got a prize for doing nothing. He got elected, and they gave it to Obama for doing absolutely nothing but destroying our country. Obama was not a good president."

He made the statement as he announced his intention to travel to Egypt for the signing of the deal in the coming days.

"I've stopped eight wars, so that's never happened before — but they'll have to do what they do. Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn't do it for that, I did it because I saved a lot of lives," Trump said.

According to prediction market Kalshi, Trump is a big outsider for the award, with only a 5 percent chance of taking the honor.

Trump announced on Wednesday, October 8, that he had secured a historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas, and defied all expectations, despite his proud deal-making track record. 

Donald Trump thanks hostage families group for backing Nobel Peace Prize bid

Donald Trump issued a letter to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on the second anniversary of the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas, thanking them for their appeal to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

This comes as Israel and Hamas are engaged in negotiations over Trump’s peace plan.

Trump wrote in the letter, "Since the abhorrent events of October 7, 2023, that saw families ripped apart, children torn from their parents’ arms, and innocent people shot, killed, and r*ped, I have been resolved to returning all the hostages home, and ensuring the total destruction of Hamas so these horrific acts may never be repeated."

"These unspeakable scenes have been seared into our memories, and we will never forget," he added.

The POTUS also wrote, "My entire administration has been touched by the fact that, through the unimaginable pain and suffering of spending two years not knowing where your loved ones are, you have continued telling their stories and advocating on their behalf."

Trump’s letter was in response to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which issued a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, stating that after two years of suffering, they believed the President's efforts had brought them to a turning point.

Moreover, the group acknowledged the number of hostages released since Trump’s inauguration, giving some families the return of their loved ones and others "the dignity of burial and closure."