Trump's Nobel Peace Prize nod withdrawn

Donald Trump's desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize took a major step backward when the Ukrainian lawmaker who nominated the U.S. president abruptly withdrew his recommendation.

Newsweek reported Tuesday that Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign committee who nominated Trump last November, said he had "lost any sort of faith and belief" that Trump would make good on his vow to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump promised during his 2024 presidential campaign that he would "end the Ukraine war within 24 hours." Trump has since said he was being "sarcastic" when he repeatedly made the remark, and said in April that the U.S. will "take a pass" on brokering further negotiations unless there Moscow and Kyiv made progress toward a ceasefire.

Merezhko told Newsweek, "Trump is 'is evading—he is dodging—the need to impose sanctions on Russia.'"

Pakistan has also announced it nominated Trump for the Peace Prize, "citing the role that Islamabad says he played in helping to negotiate a ceasefire last month between India and Pakistan." However, Pakistani politicians are now asking the government to withdraw the nomination over the U.S. airstrikes on Iran, a fellow Islamic nation.

The bombing has led to "questions about Trump's credentials as a peacemaker, which he has claimed to be in the India-Pakistan conflict of early May," CNBC reported.

Pakistani media quoted one politician, stating, "Trump has supported the Israeli attacks on Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. How can this be a sign of peace?"

Trump has long claimed he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize, as have some present and past administration officials. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who withdrew as Trump's first pick for attorney general over an alleged sex scandal, claimed that the honor should be renamed the "Trump Peace Prize" if the president would broker a deal for nuclear inspectors to go into both Iran and Israel.

During a press gaggle last week, Trump said, "Well, they should give me the peace prize for Rwanda and, if you look, the Congo. Or you could say Serbia, Kosovo...the big one is India and Pakistan. I should have gotten it four or five times. I should get it for...the Abraham Accords would be a good one, too.

Read the Newsweek article here.