The Award Donald Trump Deserves

In Donald Trump’s bizarre concept of the world, he is campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize but what he really should receive is an equivalent of the Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards presented as a parody of the Academy Awards to those movies least deserving of Oscars. Here are some of his qualifications for the first annual Warmonger Prize during just the first year of his second term.

After threatening to go into Nigeria with “guns-a-blazing,” Trump celebrated Christmas by ordering a bombing strike on Nigeria. A social media post by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened “more to come.”

As of this writing at least 107 civilians have been killed in 30 US strikes on Venezuelan speedboats in international waters. Trump has claimed, without presenting any evidence, that these boats were carrying drugs destined for the United States, which justified these strikes as self-defense in an “armed conflict.” How speedboats, apparently destined for nearby countries, could present an imminent danger to the United States, more than a thousand miles away, is hard to imagine. Nor has Congress authorized military action under the War Powers Act. When one strike left two survivors clinging to their boat’s wreckage, they were killed in a second strike even though they hardly presented a danger, imminent or otherwise, to the United States or anyone. In an earlier strike, two survivors were repatriated to Colombia where they were freed without prosecution. Apparently, they were not a danger to the United States. Usually, alleged low level drug dealers are apprehended for interrogation about higher ups and possible prosecution and not killed as there is no death penalty for drug dealing.

Trump escalated his undeclared war against Venezuela with a CIA drone strike on a port facility inside Venezuela. Despite the administration not requesting congressional consent, it is likely that this is the first of a series of attacks on land in Venezuela.

In June the United State bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran using more than 125 aircraft and bunker busting bombs. The UN Secretary General called this “a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge.” After his December 29 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump suggested that if Iran continued its nuclear program, he would support Israeli military strikes.

In mid-December, the United States military launched 70 strikes against alleged ISIS targets in Syria. Here too it seems likely that there will be more such attacks in the future.

President Trump’s “One Beautiful Bill” proposed a $156 billion increase in defense spending. If he gives an acceptance speech for the Warmonger Prize, Trump can thank not only the House and Senate majorities but also his presidential predecessors for their support of bloated of military spending.

In September, Trump issued an executive order changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. However, only Congress has the power to do this.

There are, sadly, many other serious contenders for this award including Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin but, if readers think that this is a joke, the real joke would be if anyone considers him for the Nobel Prize.

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