Trump ramps up campaign for Nobel Peace Prize ahead of Putin meeting

President Donald Trump has campaigned for a Nobel Peace Prize, pitching himself as a "peacemaker" as he heads into a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine war.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Toward the end of Donald Trump’s first term, his national security adviser turned to him in the Oval Office and said he should win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work normalizing relations between Israel and some Arab states.

Another aide chimed in, saying the last president, Barack Obama, had won the award “for nothing.”

“Trump’s attitude was, ‘Whatever,’” recalled the adviser, Robert O’Brien, in an interview. “He wasn’t concerned about the recognition.”

Any whiff of indifference is now gone. Back in office, Trump and his aides are intensifying a public campaign to snag the award, citing a string of peace deals while making a case that snubbing him again would be an injustice.

Day by day, the White House is amplifying Trump's role in curbing hostilities and putting out the message that this most combative of presidents is at heart a "peacemaker."