President Donald Trump complained on Friday that he did not receive a Nobel Peace Prize for his work to normalize economic ties between Serbia and Kosovo during his first administration.
Trump made the comments during a news conference in Morristown, New Jersey, before boarding Marine One.
The comments came in response to a reporter's question about renaming the Nobel Peace Prize to the Trump Peace Prize. Disgraced former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida recently suggested changing the name of the award if Trump gets Iran and Israel to give up their nuclear weapons and end their conflict.
"They would never give me a [Nobel] Peace Prize," Trump said. "They only give it to liberals."
Serbia and Kosovo have been embroiled in a long-standing conflict since the late 1990s. Over that time, economic and cultural ties between the two countries have soured.
In 2020, the Trump administration announced it had brokered a deal to restart economic relations between the countries. Former Ambassador Robert O'Brien called the deal "a fantastic step" toward resolving the conflict.
However, tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have continued. One particular issue is the treatment of ethnic Serbs in four northern municipalities, according to the International Crisis Group.
Last year, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić engaged in a tit-for-tat war of words with each other over the northern municipalities.
“We have no relationship at all,” Vučić told Politico at the time.
You can watch Trump's full comments here.
