Seven Republican governors have signed onto a letter supporting President Trump’s nomination for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for “his transformative efforts to bring peace to the Korean peninsula after more than 60 years of conflict and division.”
“Though he has only been in office one year, President Trump has achieved an unprecedented victory for global peace and security,” reads the May 14 letter to Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Trump, who is typically characterized as politically polarizing, is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month to discuss the denuclearization in the Korean peninsula.
“The President’s firm stance against nuclearization, coupled with his willingness to engage one-on-one with Pyongyang, has succeeded in opening new avenues of cooperation, friendship and unity between the two Koreas – and the rest of the world,” states the letter.
The petition for Nobel nomination support was initiated by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. The letter was signed by Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, Maine Gov. Paul LePage and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
The nomination was made by 18 House Republicans, spearheaded by the Indiana Republican Luke Messer, claim that Trump should “receive the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his work to end the Korean War, denuclearize the Korean peninsula and bring peace to the region.”
The governors, in agreement with the House Republicans, said “the president’s strategy in reaching this historical moment included renewed cooperation with China to impose multilateral sanctions against North Korea, placing new pressure on the Kim regime.”
The added that diplomatic overtures have worked to complement this effort, resulting in a succession of gains in recent weeks.
On April 18, Trump revealed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with Kim in North Korea ahead of an anticipated meeting between our two nations. Three days later, North Korea announced the suspension of its nuclear testing program.
On April 27, Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in a landmark summit, making headlines around the world.
Pompeo went back to Pyongyang on May 9 and returned with three American hostages.
“After nearly two decades of gridlock and global anxiety surrounding North Korea’s nuclear program, we are now, at last, on the precipice of peace. There is but one new variable: President Donald J. Trump and his successful policy of security through strength. There is no one more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize,” the letter states.