Video has surfaced of a recent meeting between European leaders during which they joked about President Donald Trump's verbal slip when discussing peace deals he'd brokered, naming one between Albania and Azerbaijan, a war that never happened.
By Peter Aitken
Trump had brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan in August, one of several he has touted in recent months as proof of his international politics muscle and skill.
However, when listing his accomplishments during a joint press conference with Sir Keir Starmer during his State visit to the U.K. in mid-September, he said he had ended a conflict between "Aber-baijan" and Albania, which brought mockery from some media outlets but remained untouched by political personalities until this week.
What To Know
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama jokingly scolds his colleague French President Emmanuel Macron that he didn't congratulate Albania and Azerbaijan for brokering a peace deal thanks to the U.S. president, saying the countries worked "very hard" to achieve the deal.
"You should make an apology to us because you didn't congratulate us for the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan," Rama said while Macron and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev laugh.
Macron responded to the joke with a mock apology, saying, "I am sorry for that."
Trump also made the same mix-up while speaking with Fox News host Mark Levin, saying he had "solved wars that were unsolvable. Azerbaijan and Albania, it was going on for many, may years, I had the prime ministers and presidents in my office."
Trump has repeatedly raised his deal-making bona fides in connection with his viability for a Nobel Peace Prize, a case he once again pressed during his speech before the General Assembly during the United Nations High Level week in late September.
"Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of these achievements," the president said after claiming to have ended "seven unendable wars" during his second term.
Among those conflicts, for example is the deal he brokered between Cambodia and Thailand following a border clash between the two nations, although renewed clashes this week threaten it. Other conflicts include Israel and Iran, as well as Kosovo and Serbia, all of which saved "millions of lives."
Trump has made no secret of his desire to win the coveted peace prize during his second term, often musing that he believes he deserves to win the award former President Barack Obama received in 2009. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Oct. 10 in Oslo, Norway.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Newsweek in an email statement: "President Trump has done more for global stability than any leader in the world.”
President Donald Trump in September wrote on Truth Social: "Such an Honor to have helped settle the War with Azerbaijan and Armenia and, at the same time, become friends with these two Great Leaders and Men, President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. It will be an everlasting friendship for me but, more importantly, for the United States of America!"
He has also posted several quotes from news outlets about his potential Nobel nomination, including, "Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, but the left will never admit it," from an opinion piece in The Hill, and "Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize. He's achieved more than those who've won before," from an opinion piece published in USA Today.
California Governor Gavin Newsom's Press Account on X posted video of the European leaders' exchange and wrote:
"UNDER TRUMP, AMERICA IS BEING LAUGHED AT"