Former Dem Rep Says Trump Would ‘Deserve’ Nobel Peace Prize if He Can ‘Engineer’ Ukraine-Russia Deal

(DCNF)—Former Democrat Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr. said Monday on Fox News’ “The Five” that if President Donald Trump can “engineer” a deal between Ukraine and Russia then he will “absolutely deserve” the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday to discuss a potential deal with Russia, days after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The effort to end the conflict escalated into a full-scale war in February 2022. Ford Jr. said he was not concerned about Trump meeting with Putin.

“There were Republicans and Democrats who were concerned about the meeting with Putin. And there were even some Republicans who were mildly critical of giving Mr. Putin the stage there in Alaska. I was not,” Ford Jr. said. “But when you think about [it], we won the Cold War. We spent a lot of money and time and effort to do that. And, as a result, lines were drawn, and perks were given.”

“Mr. Putin, throughout his time in public life, has made clear that he wants to reconstitute the geographic footprint, the power print of what the USSR was. You don’t want that. He wants that,” Ford Jr. added. “I think when we talk, if we talk too casually about redrawing lines, we run the risk of saying to countries like Latvia and Estonia and Lithuania, ‘Don’t worry, if he gets in there, and he takes over parts of your country, we’ll only come in and help you establish peace if you give pieces of it up.’”

Prior to meeting with Trump, Putin showed reluctance to hold any discussions with Ukraine. Trump ultimately gave Putin a timeline for when he said negotiations need to begin.

Although no agreement was reached Friday, Trump and Putin said talks were moving in a positive direction. Early reports suggested Putin was willing to consider halting the war in exchange for Kyiv ceding the Russian-speaking Donbas region.

“I’m not saying that’s where President Trump is. I’m not convinced that President Trump is ready to give any more than Crimea. That’s the one thing he did say on social media. I’m not convinced that he’s willing to give up one third of Ukraine,” Ford Jr. said.

“Now, they have 20% they’re in occupation of. Putin wants 10% more. Can you imagine if someone told America, ‘We want 30 percent of your country and Miami?’” Ford Jr. asked.

Watters jumped in, saying Putin was simply trying to “cut” a deal, while adding that Zelenskyy would not budge on territory.

“Right. But I’m not saying you’re saying this. My only point is, I give President Trump tremendous credit for where we are. And if he is able, again, to engineer this deal, we’ve been saying for weeks on this show, I would be the first,” Ford Jr. said. “I would hope you would invite me down to the White House when the president is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, because he would absolutely deserve it.”

With a potential deal on the horizon, peace between Ukraine and Russia would not mark Trump’s first success in resolving a world conflict.

On Aug. 8, he helped end a three-decade dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over territorial claims. During a press conference, both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Trump should win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump has settled multiple world conflicts since January, including cease-fires between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Syria, and India and Pakistan.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].