Last week, Russian Railways (RZD) awarded Adam Kadyrov yet another sham honor. Meanwhile, the Nobel Committee once again passed over Donald Trump for the Peace Prize.

Rabochaya Politika (Workers’ Politics) republishes Kirill Buketov’s article “Alfred Nobel vs. Donald Trump”—on the vain pursuit of recognition, the value of awards, and why a prize’s prestige depends not only on who receives it, but also on who does not.

And he never will.

Can the world still distinguish publicity from merit?

Since the beginning of 2025, the idea of awarding Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize has periodically resurfaced in public debate. It is as though the world were being tested: can it still distinguish political publicity from genuine achievement?

Perhaps for the first time, a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize is demanding recognition and accusing the committee of bias. Trump’s attempts to put public pressure on such a respected institution are not merely an example of political vanity; they also threaten the reputation of the prize itself.

Throughout the prize’s history, no political leader has made such statements. The Peace Prize has never been a publicity tool or a bargaining chip—and that is why it retains its moral authority.

A made-to-order prize: how Trump turns peace into a transaction

In his will, Alfred Nobel called for the prize to recognize work that brings nations closer together, abolishes or reduces standing armies, and organizes and promotes peace congresses. These criteria demand a commitment to humanism, international solidarity and respect for human dignity.

The prize’s history includes people who became moral symbols: Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai. None begged for the award. Nor did they contemplate putting pressure on the committee. Trump is the first politician to declare openly that he “deserves” the Nobel Prize.

He compares himself to Obama, denounces the committee’s “unfairness” and doggedly insists that he “does more for peace than anyone else.” Yet not a single Nobel Peace Prize laureate has supported his nomination. For the international peace community, the distinction is clear: Trump is a man of conflict, not reconciliation.

A president of conflict: peace in the language of threats

Consider the absurdity: a man who has (re)created the Department of War is seeking the Peace Prize. He has aggressively dismantled the global security system while bringing about an unprecedented expansion of armies, arms production and military spending worldwide.

Trump has built his foreign policy around “America First”—a slogan that, in practice, means “America against everyone else.” Ultimatums replace dialogue; sanctions and threats replace diplomacy. He has weakened international arms-control agreements, withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, undermined trust in allies and effectively called multilateral diplomacy itself into question.

Cuts to UN funding, withdrawal from the World Health Organization during the pandemic, pressure on the International Labour Organization, and attacks on international courts and human rights institutions all weaken mechanisms created to prevent war and protect human rights. Such conduct does more than fail to advance peace: it undermines its foundations.

Trump is cutting funding for peacekeeping and humanitarian programs around the world, disregarding decisions by international bodies and addressing others through pressure and threats. His outlook leaves no room for collective security. There is only the deal.

Such deals may produce short-term results, but they do not address the underlying problems. They plant time bombs everywhere. Sooner or later, those bombs will explode into new conflicts—probably even more violent ones.

Inequality as policy: a domestic war on democracy

Trump’s domestic policies display open contempt for the freedom, democracy and equality proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. His administration attacks independent media, destroys university and academic autonomy, and dismantles trade unions.

This is precisely the issue addressed in the committee’s statement announcing the 2025 Peace Prize: “Democracy is a necessary condition for lasting peace. Yet democracy is now in retreat, and ever more authoritarian regimes are challenging established norms and resorting to violence… We see the same trends around the world: the rule of law is used to serve those in power, independent media are suppressed, critics are imprisoned, and societies are pushed toward authoritarianism and militarization.”

Trump’s social and tax reforms, which benefit large corporations and the wealthy, have deepened social divisions and undermined the economic security of millions of Americans. Rather than advancing social justice and improving working conditions, these policies have strengthened the power of capital and weakened workers’ position. A president who undermines workers’ rights and increases social inequality cannot be regarded as a champion of peace. Peace is impossible without social justice.

His immigration policy has been one of the cruelest and most controversial aspects of Trump’s domestic agenda. It has stripped protection from many families seeking political asylum in the land of freedom and democracy. The “zero tolerance” policy at the Mexican border separated thousands of family members, including young children placed in camps and detention centers. Deportations, the construction of a border wall, and hostile rhetoric toward migrants and refugees have created a climate of fear.

All of this violates international humanitarian norms and undermines the image of the United States as a country founded on freedom and human rights.

When democracy collapses, peace collapses

As long as the spirit of Nobel’s will endures, we can say with confidence: Trump will not become a laureate.

The Nobel Peace Prize is not a reward for ambition, nor an acknowledgment of military, economic, technological or political power. It is a symbol of trust. The world bestows it on those who serve it, not those who exploit it.

Donald Trump has not earned that trust. The spirit of Nobel’s prize stands against everything Trump embodies: his aggression, his view of the world as a bazaar, and the swagger of an armed huckster.

He has replaced the pursuit of peace with the rhetoric of profit, destroyed international institutions, condemned millions to suffering and weakened his own citizens’ rights.

He builds walls instead of bridges. He haggles where he should seek agreement. He does not build peace—he profits from conflict.

Trump wants the prize. But he does not understand its meaning.

Peace is not something that can be bought. It is something that needs to be built.