President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and President Donald Trum of the United States

President Donald Trump is a self-important, narcissistic, arrogant, bombastic man that has changed the image of the president of the United States from that of a statesman worthy of respect from all to a caricature of a grandiose politician who desires nothing else but the spotlight and applause, and desires it all of the time.

He is also the president who has accomplished more for peace and ending conflicts around the world than any of the other four presidents who are Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Don’t get me wrong. Three of the four Nobel Peace Prize winners deserved the prize. Theodore Roosevelt was truly instrumental in ending the Russian-Japanese War. Woodrow Wilson founded the League of Nations, which was not all that effective, but it was a substantial accomplishment getting the various nations to participate in an international organization whose purpose was to maintain peace around the world. The League of Nations was a harbinger of the United Nations which, though it has its own problems, has been significantly more effective. Barak Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize and nobody knows why. Nobody knew why he won it in 2009 and still nobody knows why he won it. The official word from the Nobel committee was that he won it for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Which sounds like even the Nobel committee didn’t know why they were giving it to him, so they came up with the most vague statement possible. One reporter wrote that Obama won for not being George W. Bush. Perhaps the Nobel committee got caught up in the Obama enthusiasm that was sweeping the world after he became president. Still today I have no idea what the man has done that merits such awe and admiration among his supporters. Jimmy Carter certainly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, and many Americans wondered why he didn’t win it sooner by brokering peace between Egypt and Israel in 1978 with the Camp David Accords. No one disputes that Carter was instrumental in bringing President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel together and to hammering out a settlement that was beneficial to both nations. Yet, in 1978, when Sadat and Begin were announced as Nobel laureates, there was no Jimmy Carter. Carter was awarded the prize n 2002 for the international work The Carter Center had done on negotiating international conflicts and supporting the growth of democracy, among other noble work. In my mind, Carter was a terrible president, he was over his head in the White House, but he deserved two Nobel Peace Prizes.

It’s hard to ignore what Donald Trump has accomplished in only six months in office, though the Democrats and the media are sure trying. Trump and his administration have been instrumental in negotiating ceasefires or the end of conflicts in five cases:

1. India and Pakistan in May (India disputes Trump’s involvement, but Pakistan recognizes it and its government has called for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize)
2. Rwanda an Democratic Republic of the Congo in June
3. Israel and Iran in June (Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities left the terrorist nation with nothing to do but agree to peace, knowing their military could not stand up against Israel; Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nomited Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize)
4. Thailand and Cambodia in July (Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hu Manet has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize)
5. Armenia and Azerbaijan in August (both countries have called for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize)

The details of what Trump and his administration has done can be googled. But, honestly, except for Israel and Iran, have you heard of any of these cases? How many people knew that Trump was involved in ending decades of fighting between Rwanda and the DRC? Here’s what the Associated Press said in June: “The Democratice Republic of Congo and Rwanda on Friday signed a peace deal facilitated by the U. S. to help end the decades-long deadly fighting in eastern Congo while helping the U. S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region.” Ah, one says, so the U. S. wasn’t doing this so much to end the fighting, but to gain access to minerals! Okay. Fine. Who cares? Rwanda and the DRC have been fighting for decades. People have been dying for decades. The fighting will stop now. That’s a good thing, with no caveats. Who’s going to be brash enough to say, “Ending the fighting and killing between Rwanda and the DRC is not a good thing because the U. S. only wanted access to minerals”? Honestly, it’s possible and totally okay to be motivated by a desire to stop the fighting and killing and a desire to access minerals. We’re talking about stopping people from killing each other, so the one motive doesn’t blemish the other.

Reports are that some of what Trump has negotiated remains shaky and unstable, and that in some cases agreements that were negotiated and agreed on between nations have already been broken. So, the world isn’t perfect. Any other shocking headlines? The fact is, Trump has negotiated an end to fighting in at least five conflicts. He is steadfast and committed to negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia. Even the efforts he’s put forth on that matter deserve credit and recognition. Who else has gotten this far with Putin? Some political analysts have said that only Trump could have brought Putin and Zelenskyy (someone tell me why there are two “y’s” at the end of his name) together to the negotiating table, and it looks like he just might pull it off. Yes, the European leaders are playing their part, but Trump is the key. If Putin and Zelenskyy can manage to negotiate a peace with Trump as the go-between, it will be Trump’s accomplishment. Will he let the world know that he did it? Of course! But who cares? Lives will be saved. And Ukraine can begin rebuilding its cities, its economy, and its spirit. Trump will have deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, far more so than many past winners, in my mind. Will he get it? Who knows? I don’t know if the hostility and foaming-at-the-mouth hatred of Trump by his political opponents and by many in the press is shared by the Nobel committee. Trump is a unique president in that he inspires both great admiration among his base, so that Trump can do no wrong, and seething detestation among his opponents, so that Trump can do no right.

The bottom line is, Trump already deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead of talking about the need for peace, he has actually accomplished peace in several conflicts. What he has done is nothing short of amazing, and that ought to be acknowledged. The Democrats will never acknowledge it, still clinging to Obama, who won the prize for doing nothing. But those of sound mind are able to recognize that even imperfect people can do some pretty incredible things. That Trump is one of them may be a surprise, but it’s a good surprise. I pray his efforts in negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia are successful. Why would anyone pray otherwise?

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.