PHNOM PHEN – Cambodia has announced it will officially nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the latest country to back his candidacy after Israel and Pakistan.
The move follows Trump’s key role in helping to end a violent five-day border clash between Cambodia and Thailand. Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol shared the news in Phnom Penh, praising Trump for making a decisive phone call to Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, which paved the way for a peace deal announced in Malaysia on 28 July.
Chanthol highlighted that without US support, the two countries may not have stopped the fighting, which had already killed at least 43 people and forced more than 300,000 from their homes.
He also pointed out that Trump had agreed to drop a new US tariff on Cambodian garments and footwear from 49 percent to 19 percent, a move that helped pressure both countries towards peace.
Cambodia is now on a short list with Israel and Pakistan, both of which have recently nominated Trump for the 2025 Peace Prize. In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed Trump, noting his role in the Abraham Accords of 2020, which restored relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Netanyahu said Trump had shown a strong commitment to global peace and stability.
Pakistan’s nomination, made in June, was for Trump’s “decisive diplomatic intervention” in settling a four-day military flare-up with India in the disputed Kashmir region.
Trump’s International Achievements
India, for its part, played down his involvement and said the ceasefire came from direct talks between the countries. US lawmakers, including Darrell Issa and Buddy Carter, have also put Trump forward, crediting his work on ceasefires between Israel and Iran and his efforts to advance the Abraham Accords.
Supporters have drawn up a list of Trump’s international achievements. Along with the recent Cambodia-Thailand deal, Trump’s White House points to the Abraham Accords and what it calls successful mediation in disputes stretching from Serbia and Kosovo to Rwanda and Congo, and even Egypt and Ethiopia.
Trump has promoted himself as a peacemaker since his first term. Critics, however, argue that some of these claims are exaggerated. India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, has insisted there was no outside help in the India-Pakistan ceasefire, and Trump’s military support to Israel in the ongoing Gaza conflict has drawn anger from human rights groups.
Even with several nominations, Trump faces tough odds. Many doubt the Norwegian Nobel Committee will give him the award, citing its reputation for political bias. The five-person committee is chosen by Norway’s parliament, which is currently left-leaning.
Nobel’s Left-Leaning Bias
The body has been criticized in the past for favouring left-leaning politicians, including the high-profile award to Barack Obama in 2009, which triggered resignations by two committee members.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho for the Vietnam peace talks in 1973 and to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin in 1994, which also led to resignations, highlighting bitter differences over how peace is recognized.
Some experts think the committee will look carefully at Trump’s track record, including controversial events like the June 2025 US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities after Israeli attacks, which sharply raised tensions in the Middle East.
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt called Netanyahu’s Nobel nomination an attempt to flatter Trump.
Others suggest that Cambodia and Pakistan may be trying to win diplomatic favours or better trade deals. The Nobel Committee keeps all nomination lists sealed for 50 years, making the process hard to predict, and usually looks for winners who have broad support.
Competition for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is intense, with 338 names in the running, made up of 244 individuals and 94 organizations.
The committee selects a shortlist and seeks advice from experts before making a decision, which will be announced on 10 October in Oslo, with the prize handed out on 10 December.
Trump’s nominations draw attention to his influence in world affairs, but the Nobel Committee’s record of staying cautious in political controversies makes a win for him unlikely, even with multiple endorsements.
