Donald J. Trump, the US president, is a real character in study. They say he does manage to stay in the news even if, and especially in the genre of ‘new-news’, the matter has little intrinsic value. Ah, but not in the case of the American president. He seems to voraciously embrace it.
Like his accepting the Nobel Peace Prize medal. And by the next question of means? And bolstered by tactics that Niccolò Machiavelli (a rich combination of a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian) would have appreciated. In a nutshell, the major players in the Trump episode were Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. And to think that only a short while before, they were anything but chummy – derided as the reputedly corrupt Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was nabbed by the American forces during their operations in Maduro’s country.
Then things got even more interesting. Fade out Maduro, enter Machado, with Trump being in their vicinity almost as soon as the Venezuelan bad boy was removed from power.
And along comes Machado in an increasingly influential and pivotal role, ostensibly for taking Venezuela back on the right track from the Maduro days of drug trade and a host of other bad doings that were detrimental to Venezuela and its reportedly long-suffering populace. And so, Maduro is sent to virtual oblivion and in steps Donald Trump as the saving grace of the general Venezuelan population.
And almost simultaneously with Trump’s triumph and Maduro’s oblivion, Machado begins glowing in the limelight and, not much later, begins to sing the praises of Donald Trump.
Trump’s desire for a Nobel Prize (in peace, no less, or naturally – because that would be the prize he could realistically win – unless it was in Economics!) was trumpeted around rather boldly and fairly frequently in different forums by acolytes, and he did not hide his desire to get one either. Of all the recognitions in various areas he had received over the course of his political career, the Nobel was the one he probably coveted more.
It was rather clear that he coveted the pantheon of great American presidents and thought that the Nobel would be a wonderful and strategic aid to his desire. Not that American presidents have not won great accolades before the Nobel Prize saw the light of day or other heads of government have not been given due honours for their contribution to make America great and/or viable power/superpower.
According to historical surveys from institutions like C-SPAN and the Siena Research Institute, the top five American presidents are ranked as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. They are highly regarded for guiding the nation through existential crises, defining the executive role, and driving significant social or territorial expansion.
Only four American presidents have won a Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919), Jimmy Carter (2002), and Barack Obama (2009). They have successfully mediated international conflicts and have established world peace. Great statesmen, sagacious persons.
And now it is Donald Trump’s latent and open desire to garner that prize named after Alfred Nobel and, in the process, stamp his name in the pantheon of great statesmen/women. Because that is what the script reads like.
And now to the denouement of the intriguing drama anchored on Donald Trump, María Corina Machado, and the Nobel Peace Prize (which is adorned by a glittering medal). In short, Trump did not win the Nobel Peace Prize (he had made several references before its announcement); María Machado has, and here has arisen a strange twist to the plot.
It seems like Maduro was such an arch-villain that Machado stands alone way over and above him. Most crucially, she seems to enjoy the confidence of Trump and has repaid the US president with the Nobel Peace Prize medal that she had won. The prize itself is a gift from the Nobel committee, and Machado has won it.
But there was more coming. Machado gifted the medal accompanying the prize to Trump in recognition of what she termed as his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. Fair enough.
But Trump might have coveted the prize itself more. Oh well, maybe next time! He seems to covet all and any kind of top-class honours and accolades, and has illusions of immortality to be placed in the pantheon of the Lincoln of old, and who knows, he might just get his wish. Meanwhile, he will have to be satisfied with Machado’s medal.
The writer is an MALD (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy) and PhD (University of Boston)
