Donald Trump’s very public and confident campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize created a massive weight of expectations, making his failure to win a much bigger story than it might have been otherwise. By lobbying so openly, he set a high bar for himself that he ultimately could not clear.
Most Nobel candidacies are quiet affairs. If a nominee doesn’t win, few people even know they were in the running. This allows individuals and their supporters to avoid public disappointment.
Trump, however, chose a different strategy. He and his allies actively courted media attention and built a public narrative that he was not just a candidate, but a favorite. This turned the announcement into a high-stakes public verdict on his peacemaking legacy.
When the prize went to María Corina Machado, it wasn’t just a quiet loss; it was a public snub. The weight of his own expectations came crashing down, forcing his team into a rapid damage-control operation, as seen in the defiant White House statement.
In the end, Trump’s greatest political skill—his ability to dominate the media cycle—may have been his undoing in the context of the Nobel. It created a spectacle where the only acceptable outcome was victory, making his loss all the more resounding.