Trump's Nobel fury: After India, it's Poland

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his "role in ending eight wars" globally, and he has shown little willingness to entertain contrary assessments. In June last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fact-checked Donald Trump's repeated claims of having brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Following this, trade tensions between the US and India increased. The friction that followed was not linked directly to the exchange, but Trump's aversion to scrutiny, and his egomania, are well known. Now, Trump has focussed his Nobel fury on a new target — a country that until recently was one of the US' most steadfast allies: Poland.

The spark that re-ignited the tinderbox that is Trump's obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize came after Wiodzimierz Czarzasty, the Speaker of the Lower House of the Polish Parliament made a statement on Monday, where he flatly refused to endorse the US President for the 2026 Prize.

Czarzasty did not mince his words talking about Trump, stating that "he does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize", reported news agency AP. He said Trump "represents power politics and, by the use of force, pursues transactional politics". This often means "breaking international law," the Polish politician added.

INDIA, POLAND HAVE BEEN US ALLIES FOR DECADES

Both India and Poland have been key pieces of post-cold war US Foreign Policy.

India stood as a counterweight against China, which has emerged as the biggest competitor to the US. India had also worked on deepening strategic ties through the Quad to counter Beijing's influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Poland, meanwhile, committed itself even further. It has been part of the US-led Nato alliance since 1999. Polish soldiers shed sweat and blood to defend American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan. The country stands as Nato's bulwark against any future Russian aggression and has thrown open its borders to take in millions of refugees after Russia started its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But Trump is someone who lets his own whims and desires define his foreign policy decisions. Much like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator, who stops at nothing to hunt its target, the US President will not stop at anything to achieve his own desires, even if US bilateral ties with strategic allies become collateral damage.

US CUT ALL TIES WITH POLISH SPEAKER OVER COMMENTS ON TRUMP, HIS NOBEL OBSESSION

In response to Czarzasty's remarks, the US responded by announcing it was cutting all ties with the Speaker due to what US Ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, described on Thursday as, "outrageous and unprovoked insults directed against President Trump". Keep in mind, Poland has been a close US ally ever since it shook off the shackles of the Warsaw Pact in 1989.

The US Ambassador's response set off controversy within Poland.

The US Ambassador's response set off controversy within Poland. An online poll, run by the television channel TVN24, asked viewers: Should Sejm Speaker Czarzasty retract his statement that Donald Trump does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

Out of more than 24,600 people who responded, 78% said no — he should stand by his words.

Only 22% believed he should retract the comment.

The poll showed public irritation with what many Poles saw as heavy-handed American pressure.

The Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, posted on X, writing to the US envoy, "Mr Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture, each other. At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership."

Wall Street Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Yaroslav Trofimov, wrote on X, "Poland used to be the most viscerally pro-American country in Europe, perhaps only second to Kosovo. But it's nobody’s colony, and this kind of language will not be forgotten."

Retired US Army officer and former commander of all US forces stationed in Europe, Ben Hodges, also criticised the US action, writing that, "Our Ambassadors in Denmark and now Poland are pissing off two of our closest allies with their oafish behaviour. And this on the heels of dissing the soldiers of our Allies who fought with us in Afghanistan and Iraq. Is this intentional or is the Administration just incompetent"?

But perhaps, the most pointed criticism came from Polish lawmaker Roman Giertych, who had previously served as deputy prime minister and minister of education.

Writing on X, he stated while he was "not a fan" of Czarzasty, he described the US decision to suspend all ties with the speaker as "insolent". He then went on to compare Trump's demands for the Peace Prize with the Roman Emperor's demands to be recognised for his music. He warned that Nero's demands were "recognised as the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire".

Trump's demands are "from a Polish perspective, similar to demanding awards and praise from Nero".

The US reaction to Polish politicians refusing to endorse him for the Nobel Peace Prize is in many ways similar to India's own experience. When India declined to acknowledge Donald Trump’s claims of his role in easing hostilities between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, he showed no immediate reaction, but relations did sour somewhat. Soon after, the US imposed 50% tariffs on Indian imports. While these are not cause and effect, the sequence does bring that thought to mind.

Similarly, the Polish lawmaker's refusal to back Trump's Nobel bid, coupled with criticism of his policies, prompted the US Ambassador to cut off all official ties with him. For an administration well versed in straining relations with allies over perceived slights, this latest spat with Poland — one of the US' most steadfast Nato partners — marks yet another low.

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