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NOBEL-PEACE-US-POLITICS
Trump calls Scandinavian MPs who nominated him for Nobel
OSLO, Sept 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump has telephoned
two Scandinavian MPs to thank them for nominating him for the 2021 Nobel
Peace Prize, the two lawmakers said Tuesday.
“I was on my way to the stable with my daughter, when President Donald
Trump called and thanked me for the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize,”
Magnus Jacobsson, a Swedish member of parliament for the Christian Democrats,
wrote on Twitter.
“We had a good conversation about peace in the Middle East and the
Balkans. I wish the President good luck with the peace processes,” he added,
posting a photo of a smiling Trump sitting at his desk on the phone.
Norwegian MP Christian Tybring-Gjedde, of the right-wing populist anti-
immigration Progress Party, meanwhile told AFP he had also received a call
from Trump on Monday.
“It was just to thank me for the nomination,” he said, refusing to
disclose details of their conversation.
“I was surprised. It was really good of him to do that, I don’t think
everyone does that. He’s very nice,” he added.
Tybring-Gjedde and Jacobsson announced in early September that they had
each put forward Trump’s name for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Tybring-Gjedde cited the president’s role in the deal normalising
relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Jacobsson hailed his mediation efforts between Serbia and Kosovo, whose
ties have remained strained more than 20 years after the war in the Balkans.
Trump has on several occasions celebrated the nominations, appearing to
make it an election issue just weeks ahead of the November 3 vote.
However, most Nobel experts do not believe Trump has much chance of taking
home the prize.
And the Nobel Institute has stressed that a nomination is in no way an
indication of support as thousands of people around the world are eligible to
nominate candidates, including members of the world’s parliaments, former
laureates, and some university professors.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1645 hrs