As the world awaits this year’s Nobel Peace Prize announcement, US President Donald Trump has reignited a familiar rivalry: this time aimed squarely at Barack Obama. Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump claimed his predecessor “got it for doing nothing,” while touting his own record as a peacemaker.
“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,” Trump told reporters, joined by the Prime Minister of Finland.
His remarks came just days after he announced what he called a “historic peace deal” between Israel and Hamas - one that, he said, had brought an end to two years of war in Gaza.
Obama, then barely eight months into his first term, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, a move that drew global surprise, even prompting The New York Times to call it “very premature.”
Trump, who has long expressed disdain for the award’s decision-making, appeared to seize on that history to contrast his own record.
“I’ve stopped eight wars, so that’s never happened before, but they’ll have to do what they do,” he said. “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.”
The president said he plans to travel to Egypt in the coming days for the formal signing of the Israel-Hamas agreement, which includes the release of all remaining hostages within 72 hours of the ceasefire. According to Trump, about 20 Israeli captives are expected to return home by early next week.
Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya confirmed that the group had received “assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US administration” that the war was “completely over.” In return, Israel is expected to free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 others detained since the conflict began.
“It will be a day of joy,” Trump said, adding that the deal marked “a new chapter for peace” in the Middle East.
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Oslo. Among the frontrunners is Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a grassroots network that has provided health aid across the country since war erupted there in 2023. Whether Trump’s self-proclaimed “eight-war truce” finds resonance with the Nobel Committee remains to be seen.
“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,” Trump told reporters, joined by the Prime Minister of Finland.
His remarks came just days after he announced what he called a “historic peace deal” between Israel and Hamas - one that, he said, had brought an end to two years of war in Gaza.
.@POTUS: "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." https://t.co/cWElnpjbj7 pic.twitter.com/7ryz7ebDv0
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 9, 2025
Obama, then barely eight months into his first term, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, a move that drew global surprise, even prompting The New York Times to call it “very premature.”
Trump, who has long expressed disdain for the award’s decision-making, appeared to seize on that history to contrast his own record.
“I’ve stopped eight wars, so that’s never happened before, but they’ll have to do what they do,” he said. “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.”
The president said he plans to travel to Egypt in the coming days for the formal signing of the Israel-Hamas agreement, which includes the release of all remaining hostages within 72 hours of the ceasefire. According to Trump, about 20 Israeli captives are expected to return home by early next week.
Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya confirmed that the group had received “assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US administration” that the war was “completely over.” In return, Israel is expected to free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 others detained since the conflict began.
“It will be a day of joy,” Trump said, adding that the deal marked “a new chapter for peace” in the Middle East.
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Oslo. Among the frontrunners is Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a grassroots network that has provided health aid across the country since war erupted there in 2023. Whether Trump’s self-proclaimed “eight-war truce” finds resonance with the Nobel Committee remains to be seen.
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