In a surprising turn of events, former U.S. President Donald Trump has emerged as the frontrunner for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Bookmakers have significantly reduced his odds following advancements towards a ceasefire in Gaza. Just a few days prior, Trump's odds were at 6/1, but they have now tightened to 2/1, placing him as the clear favorite, according to Oddspedia.
His closest competition comes from Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms at 5/2, followed by Russian political figure Yulia Navalnaya at 4/1.
As reported by Oddspedia, Navalnaya is the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny passed away in an Arctic penal colony on February 16, 2024. While Russian officials attributed his death to natural causes, his family and a significant portion of the international community have pointed fingers at the Kremlin.
Over 250 other contenders are still in the running, including global leaders, humanitarian organizations, and activists.
Among the more controversial contenders ranked near the top is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The UNRWA has faced accusations of its employees having connections to terrorist groups, including Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks. This has led to international scrutiny and demands for increased oversight of the agency's operations.
"After inquiring in Feb about @UNRWA members' involvement in the horrific October 7th attack, it's assuring to see steps taken toward accountability," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X. "Yet, more must be done. @UNRWA should be dissolved & replaced by an org that doesn't enable evil attacks against Israel."
The Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced on Friday at 5 a.m. ET during a formal ceremony in Sweden. The top 10 betting favorites include Donald Trump, Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, Yulia Navalnaya, UNRWA, Doctors Without Borders, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, William Lai, Greta Thunberg, International Criminal Court (ICC), and Pope Leo XIV. Other notable figures in the running include Elon Musk and Julian Assange.
Several high-profile figures and organizations often critical of Trump are also among the top 10, including UNRWA, Thunberg, the ICC, and Pope Leo, who has reportedly urged U.S. bishops to speak out against Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement deporting illegal criminals.
"They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize," Trump lamented in February as he sought to settle long-running wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. "It's too bad I deserve it."
Trump had pledged on the campaign trail to be the world's peacemaker, and even some of his leading international critics admit he has been, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
"For the first time in decades, hundreds of years, thousands of years, this prospect of peace that you've made possible, Canada stands four square behind and we will do everything we can to support those efforts," Carney said. The prime minister has had public sparring with Trump over trade, tariffs, and Trump's calls to make his nation America's 51st state.
Trump's words do not readily resonate with everyone on the world stage, including America's adversaries Iran, Russia, and terrorists, as well as critics, according to the Financial Times. However, the efforts to bridge centuries of divides in the Middle East and Russia are noteworthy for an award that is supposed to recognize precisely that.
"It has been hard to take some of his proclamations seriously but this is different," a European diplomat told the Financial Times. "Gaza would be a big deal."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at odds with globalists' condemnation of his war on Hamas, says Trump had "made possible what many said was impossible": peace in the Middle East.
"If I were named [former President Barack] Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize in 10 seconds," Trump has said, referencing his long-standing lament that Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for "doing nothing."
As the world awaits the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, it's clear that Trump's efforts towards peace, particularly in the Middle East, have not gone unnoticed. Despite his controversial reputation and the criticism he faces, his work towards resolving long-standing conflicts has placed him as a strong contender for this prestigious award.
Regardless of the outcome, these developments highlight the complexity and unpredictability of international politics and the ongoing quest for global peace.
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