Donald Trump has become the second person to be gifted a Nobel Prize, right after Nazi Germany’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. The prize has been gifted to the US President by Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado. This takes place during a meeting at the White House, supposedly a tribute to his commitment to her country’s freedom.
Meeting President Trump for the first time after the US forces’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, upon charges of a drug-trafficking case. Machado claimed it to be a “historic day for (us) Venezuelans” as she gifted her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump. This move was deemed by Trump a “wonderful gesture”. It has, however, been deemed invalid by the Nobel committee, claiming the prize is not transferable.
The Nobel Peace Prize As Political Currency
Historically, the Nobel Peace Prize occupies a significant place in global politics. It symbolises morality, authority, global approval and international validation, all through a historical ritual. Cemented in its dedication to morality, even a suggestion of a Nobel nomination carries weight, particularly for global leaders seeking to former legitimise controversial records.
This is the reason for the significance of the nomination process. The Nobel Peace Prize allows a wide pool of individuals, parliamentarians and academics particularly, to submit nominations. However, these nominations are merely endorsements and are not meant to advance beyond administrative consideration. However, in a true manner of contemporary politics, the symbol of peace has now been converted into a global spectacle.
Gifting Peace: The Transfer of Nobel Medals
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s act of gifting Donald Trump a Nobel Peace Prize comes from her stance of believing Trump to be a custodian of her country’s freedom and wellness. This, however, has not been well received by either the Nobel committee or internet citizens.
Trump and the Nobel Peace: A History
Throughout and after his presidency, Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize countless times, sometimes during global politics. Supporters cited his role in the Abraham Accords and other instances of political restraint. Over time, these nominations have become a part of Trump’s branding, his image defined by supporters invoking them to justify international acclaim for his image, despite the widespread criticism of his foreign and domestic policies.
Can The Nobel Prize Be Gifted?
The nominations and the rumours of Donald Trump now being a Nobel Laureate were met by mixed reactions from both sides. Thus, the Nobel Committee had to step in to clear the air. According to the Committee’s statement, the Nobel Prize cannot be awarded by other individuals, and cannot be gifted. Even when it comes to the committee’s members, no Nobel medal awarded outside of the formal proceedings would be deemed valid.
Furthermore, the statement clarified the assets within the prize, namely the 18-carat gold medal, the diploma, and the prize money. According to the committee, regardless of what may become of the medal, the laureate recorded in history as the recipient of the prize remains the laureate. The Committee relieves itself of the responsibility to keep a check on who has the Nobel Prize once it has been awarded. However, the committee claims gifted or transferred Nobel prizes are invalid.
The Gift: Trump and Nazi Germany’s Goebbels
It turns out, however, that President Trump has not been the sole gift-receiver of the Nobel Peace Prize. During Adolf Hitler’s Germany, specifically the Nazi regime, another minister was awarded the medal through a similar process of gifting. This historical reminiscence is what has been the talk of the internet, commentary regarding the likeness and the irony of history repeating itself.
The Master of Propaganda
Joseph Goebbels joined Hitler’s Nazi Party back in 1924, using his expertise in Journalism to play his part in Hitler’s campaign. He not only produced posters, artwork and other forms of anti-semitic content, but also published Der Angriff (“The Assault”), a weekly newspaper. Rising to become Hitler’s Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, he broadcast anti-semitic values openly and was able to turn sentiments openly anti-Jewish through his efforts.
When the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, in 1943, travelled to meet Goebbels, he was impressed by the Propaganda Minister’s work and impact. Upon his return to Norway from the meeting, he ended up sending his Nobel medal to Goebbels as a token of gratitude for meeting him.
Does History Repeat Itself?
The matter of concern, then, is not just the cyclical nature of the event of the gifting of the Nobel Peace medal, but the comparisons likening Donald Trump to Propaganda Minister Goebbels. The concept of gifting of the medal has begun to look like not a gesture of goodwill, but the repackaging of forced morality and virtue. The nominations and gifting of the sacred symbol of the peace award seems to be an exchanging of global validation.
The Issue Of The Gifted Nobel
Whether it was Machado acknowledging Donald Trump for his “unique commitment with (our) freedom”, or Hamsun acknowledging Goebbels’ propagandist impact on the German war effort against the Jews, the act of gifting a peace award seems to draw in a broader point of how moral authority can be dragged into political theatre. Nominations can become tools, and when awards lose legitimacy, public trust begins to erode, questioning the sancity of the award itself.
With this terror-inducing comparison between Trump and Goebbels, the internet has questions regarding the motive behind the Nobel Peace. This is not because one was awarded it by an impartial committee, but because being the custodian of peace was gifted. In the current geo-political turmoil, the sanctity of the peace prize, is seen to be reduced to a plaything. The Prize was once a laureate awarded to figures such as Mother Teresa and Marie Curie. In the hands of political figures, it is a mere performance of legitimacy, without institutional backing.
Related Stories
