Wonders never cease, especially in the United States of America. In an unbelievable move, it seems that the brash ‘pretender’ to politics, Donald Trump has actually been nominated for the prestigious Nobel Prize.
According to Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway, Trump’s name made it to the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016. The list includes Edward Snowden, Ali Akber Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and a campaigner for ISIS rape victims among others.
Like many nominees before, the billionaire Republican candidate for the US presidency is no stranger to controversy. His divisive and often openly offensive and inflammatory remarks about women, migrants, Mexicans and Muslims have enraged many across the world. Known for his penchant for faddish architecture, he has boasted about building a “big, beautiful wall” between the U.S. and Mexico.
Apparently, the unidentified US citizen who nominated him is impressed by his “vigorous peace through strength ideology”. If he doesn’t win, Trump will still be in the august company of famous nominees who failed, like Mahatma Gandhi and Vladimir Putin.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee receives about 200 nominations every year, and is extremely secretive about the details of its decision-making process.
After nomination, the next step is to climb up to the shortlist of contenders. It’s highly unlikely that Donald Trump will proceed to that stage, but many people feel that even his making it as a nominee is an affront to the Peace Prize.