Former U.S. President Donald Trump last month reportedly called Norway’s Minister of Finance, Jens Stoltenberg, to request that he be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian media reported on Thursday.
According to the Norwegian outlet Dagens Næringsliv, citing unnamed sources, “Completely unexpectedly, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking in Oslo, Donald Trump called… He wanted the Nobel Prize – and to discuss taxes,” as reported by The Guardian.
The Norwegian outlet noted that this was not the first time Trump had raised the topic of a Nobel Peace Prize nomination with Stoltenberg.
In a statement to Reuters, Stoltenberg, a former NATO Secretary-General, said the call focused on taxes and economic cooperation before Trump’s conversation with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Støre.
“I will not go further into the details of the conversation,” Stoltenberg said, adding that several White House officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, were present during the call.
Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee considers hundreds of candidates before selecting the laureates. Its members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament in accordance with the will of 19th-century Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel. The laureates are announced in October.
Trump has previously complained multiple times about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which has been awarded to four of his predecessors, including former President Barack Obama.
In June, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “No, I won’t get the Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including on Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Iran, whatever the outcomes may be, but people know, and that’s what matters to me!”
