The White House’s statement that “there will never be anyone like” Donald Trump, intended as a boast, can also be read as an unwitting concession. It acknowledges his uniqueness in a way that helps explain why the Nobel committee, an institution built on universal principles, chose someone else.
The Nobel Peace Prize is typically awarded to individuals who represent a universal ideal—the struggle for human rights, the quest for international cooperation, the power of non-violence. Laureates are chosen because we want there to be more people like them.
The claim that Trump is a one-of-a-kind figure, whose methods cannot be replicated, positions him outside of these universal norms. It frames him as an exception to the rules, a historical anomaly.
The committee, in choosing María Corina Machado, has selected a figure whose work they believe should be replicated. Her model of unifying a democratic opposition is presented as an example for others to follow.
The White House’s boast, therefore, inadvertently hits upon the very reason for the snub. The Nobel committee is not in the business of honoring unique exceptions; it is in the business of championing universal rules.
