Should India flatter Trump with Nobel nomination? Give him two, jokes Bolton

As countries line up to nominate US President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, his former National Security Advisor John Bolton jokes about India offering Trump two such nominations for better ties. While speaking to Firstpost’s Bhagyasree Sengupta, Bolton said Trump’s sudden courting of Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir and his tariff tirade against India have nothing to do with “strategic rethinking”.

He maintained that the apparent change in the American leader's stance on India and Pakistan revolves around his dream to win a Nobel.

Soon after the India-Pakistan military confrontation, Munir met President Trump in the White House. He is currently in the US attending the farewell ceremony of the Centcom chief. Munir eventually used American soil to deliver nuclear threats to India.

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During Trump’s first term, we saw events like “ Howdy Modi ” and “Namaste Trump”. So what changed? Bolton said it is all about a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

“I don’t think this is any strategic rethinking by Trump because he doesn’t do strategic rethinking. One thing Munir did was to offer to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, which has become an obsession with Trump,” Bolton told Firstpost on Tuesday.

“It’s part of a strategy of flattery, which often works with Trump as well. So my suggestion to Prime Minister Modi is that when he talks to Trump next, he should offer to nominate him twice for a Nobel Peace Prize and to keep nominating him until he gets it. Maybe that’ll help,” he joked.

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How Pakistan seeks brownie points with Nobel nomination

Soon after Operation Sindoor, Pakistan rushed to deliver a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize to Trump. It was one of the first countries to take that initiative after Trump returned to the White House. With this, Pakistan attempted to reaffirm Trump’s claim that he was the one who brokered a ceasefire deal following a four-day military escalation between India and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, India maintained that the ceasefire between the two nations was a bilateral decision and no third party was involved; many believe that New Delhi’s rejection of Trump’s assertion might have also contributed to Trump’s latest ire against India.

Pakistan, on the other hand, was also not earnest with its Nobel nomination. Because right after it nominated Trump for the prestigious award, Islamabad slammed his administration for supporting Israel in the war against Hamas.

In a Firstpost interview , Ambassador Bolton maintains that he is not thinking much about US-Pakistan ties. “I wouldn’t conclude a closer Pakistani-US relationship, although frankly I think it’s in the interest of everybody to see Pakistan retain a democratic government and not be under the military,” he said.

“But Trump doesn’t understand Pakistan at all. He’s been speaking in the past few weeks about the significant development of Pakistan’s oil reserves, which comes as a complete surprise to people in Pakistan. It’s just typical of Trump. He lives in many senses in a world of his own, a world he has created. I’m afraid because he does not think very much about what happens outside his world, he doesn’t see the ramifications sometimes of what he says," he explained.

Other nations attempt to flatter Trump

However, it is important to note that Pakistan is not the only country which has nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. The trend started with Pakistan, followed by Israel and Cambodia .

After Trump’s “peace summit” bringing together the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8 and ending decades of conflict, the heads of the two former Soviet Union states promised to write a joint nomination to the Nobel Peace Committee.

Trump has long coveted the honour, and in the past, his friends, including lawmakers, have nominated him for the honour numerous times. However, in the past, Trump often mocked former President Barack Obama, who won the award in 2009, one year into his first term, saying he didn’t know “what the hell he got it for.”

Hence, it would now be interesting to see if Norway would pay any heed to these nominations.