Eighteen House Republicans sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee Wednesday formally nominating President Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to stabilize the Korean Peninsula.
“Although North Korea has evaded demands from the international community to cease its aggressions for decades, President Trump’s peace through strength policies are working and bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula,” the Republicans, led by Representative Luke Messer of Indiana, wrote. “We can think of no one more deserving of the committee’s recognition in 2019 than President Trump for his tireless work to bring peace to our world.”
The lawmakers credited Trump for uniting the international community in opposition to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s aggressive posturing. Trump, joined by a host of U.S. allies, imposed stringent sanctions on North Korea — a move the House Republicans believe prompted Kim to meet with South Korean president Moon Jae-in last week.
The historic summit between Moon and Kim culminated in a joint statement released Friday, committing to the “complete denuclearization” of the peninsula and an official end to the Korean War, which has been paused since a cease-fire agreement was signed in 1953.
Moon said Monday that he believes Trump deserves the Nobel for his role in bringing about the summit. “President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,” Moon told a meeting of senior secretaries in response to the suggestion that he deserved the award, according to a South Korean official who briefed the media.
Kim also met with then-CIA director Mike Pompeo last month in advance of his upcoming meeting with Trump, which is expected to occur in the Peace House on the southern side of the demilitarized zone.
Should he receive the award, Trump would join Barack Obama — who received the award in 2009 just months into his presidency — Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter as the only American presidents to win it.
NOW WATCH: ‘South Korean President: Trump Deserves Nobel Peace Prize’