Trump Denies Caring About The Nobel Peace Prize He Not-So-Secretly Craves

Donald Trump is now denying his oft-stated desire for a Nobel Peace Prize just a day after he sent a grievance-filled message to Norway’s prime minister in which he suggested that not getting the honour influenced his decision to go afterGreenland.

Trump’s message to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre claimed that since Norway “decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.” 

Norway does not hand out the Nobels, as the country’s prime minister pointed out.

Trump’s griping hasn’t abated even after the latest Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, gave him her own Peace Prize medal last week ― and got a large red bag bearing Trump’s signature in return.

But when reporters asked Trump about his message to Norway’s prime minister, he downplayed his interest in the prize.

“Can you speak to your letter that you wrote to the prime minister, saying that the Nobel Prize influenced your thinking on Greenland?” one journalist asked.

“No, I don’t care about the Nobel Prize,” Trump replied. “First of all, a very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel Prize. And I appreciate that.”

He then insisted that Norway’s government selects the award recipients.

“If anybody thinks that Norway doesn’t control the Nobel Prize, they’re just kidding. They have a board, but it’s controlled by Norway. And I don’t care what Norway says,” he said before going back to denying he wants one.

“But I really don’t care about that. What I care about is saving lives. And I think I’ve saved tens of millions of lives.”

You can watch the full exchange on C-SPAN below.