The head of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee has responded to claims from the White House that Donald Trump being snubbed for the award was putting 'politics over peace'.
Yesterday (10 October) saw the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to activist María Corina Machado of Venezuela, for her work in promoting democracy in the authoritarian nation.
However, there was one person who you could say was left feeling a little disappointed by the news: US president Donald Trump.
Trump has had his eyes on the prestigious honour for a while now, with the 79-year-old hoping that claims of ending 'seven wars' during both of his terms in office, along with helping secure the momentous Israel-Hamas peace deal, would count in his favour.
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However, it's worth noting that submissions for the award close at the start of the year in January, with deliberations taking place soon after, meaning several of Trump's accomplishments came too late to be considered this year.
Nevertheless, it would seem the White House is less than impressed by the snub, with White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung making his views very clear on social media.
"President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives," he wrote.
"He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will. The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace."
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The committee has now responded to the accusations, with head Jorgen Watne Frydnes saying his team are 'used to' the pressure from campaigners.
"We read the news as everyone else and this year there has been quite a lot of focus on that, but I must also say that in the long history of the Nobel peace prize, we have seen all kinds of campaigns, lobbying, pressure," he told Sky News.
"Every year we receive thousands and thousands of letters, emails, people who want to express their opinion about who should receive the prize and also what actually leads to peace, so that’s something we’re quite used to."
Reaffirming his support for Machado, he added: "This is work that we believe is deserving and we hope that both political leaders, countries and people would support the mass movement that wants democracy in Venezuela and works for a free and fair transition from a brutal dictatorship to democracy.”
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Should he win the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump would join four other US presidents - Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama - in receiving the honour.
The businessman has been rather fixated with the fact that Obama received the award in recent months, previously claiming that he would've won the Nobel Peace Prize 'in 10 seconds' if he'd been the former Democratic leader.
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics, World News
Brenna Cooper