On Saturday night, President Donald Trump opted to speak at a campaign-style rally in Michigan instead of addressing the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The crowd proved so enthusiastic, they would have given the president the Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking of China’s President Xi Jinping, the president said, “He’s been a great help on the border with North Korea and a lot of good things are happening there.”
Moments later, one loud voice started chanting, “Nobel! Nobel!” Flattered, President Trump chuckled with understanding, saying “Nobel” and walking away from the podium.
The crowd took up the chant, “Nobel! Nobel! Nobel!” for ten seconds as the leader of the free world stood speechless before the podium. He looked like he was on top of the world.
“That’s very nice, thank you. That’s very nice,” the president said, truly meaning his words. “Nobel,” he said, with a massive grin on his face.
Trump would only be derailed for so long, however, and he immediately launched back into the speech. “I just want to get the job done,” he said, perhaps referring as much to finishing his speech as to the situation with North Korea. The crowd would not be quiet, however, and the president’s joy turned to a slight perturbation as the crowd continued to cheer wildly.
“Months ago, do you remember what they were saying? ‘He’s going to get us into nuclear war,’ they said,” Trump paraphrased. “No, strength is going to keep us out of nuclear war, not going to get us in.”
Indeed, in 2017 and the beginning of this year, Democrats, liberal media outlets, and even a few Republicans insisted that Trump’s bold rhetoric against North Korea would spark World War III. Even Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) suggested Trump would start World War III. An international studies professor took to The Washington Post to lay out exactly how World War III with North Korea would run — starting, naturally, with a tweet from the president.
Even so, peace talks between North and South Korea started in January of this year, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited the U.S. president with having “made a huge contribution to make inter-Korean talks happen.”
On Friday, Jae-in signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification on the Korean Peninsula with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. This declaration committed the two Koreas to denuclearization and peace talks to bring a formal end to the Korean War, 65 years after the hostilities ended with an armistice.
This stunning turn of events has sparked calls for Trump — once considered the most likely cause of World War III — to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
On Friday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that the president should receive the esteemed prize if North and South Korea decide to denuclearize and become peaceful neighbors again.
“It wouldn’t have happened without Trump,” Graham said Friday morning. “It may not happen, but it’s the biggest change since the end of the hostilities.”
“What happened? Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing change. We’re not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize,” the senator concluded.
Many have looked askance at the fact that President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office with no concrete accomplishments in the foreign policy realm. How ironic if Obama has won the prize Trump earned?
Whether or not Trump ever wins the Nobel Prize, he was on top of the world in Michigan Saturday night. The president experienced a glorious moment in the sun, and by all accounts, he earned it.
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