When I went to the website of The Washington Post yesterday morning, this was the photo dominating the top of the screen. My reaction was to literally laugh out loud.

In this handshake, President Trump is clearly trying to “look tough.” His brows are furrowed and he is looking down at the shorter President Putin. He keeps his hand close to his body, forcing Putin to come into his space, rather than meeting somewhere in the middle or neutral space. But Putin is glad to reach out. Because look at Putin’s expression. He looks like the cat that swallowed the canary. He knows, without a doubt, he has President Trump exactly where he wants him.

After all, President Trump, tough handshake or not, had already given away all his bargaining chips before the meeting even took place. It was a major coup for President Putin to meet on US soil. Even better, it was on US soil in a place that is highly significant to Russia. They met in Alaska, a former Russian territory prior to 1867, when the Russian Empire sold it to the United States. That is political gold for Putin back home. Plus, it was Putin who wanted a one-on-one meeting with Trump, excluding the other party to the war and their European allies. And apparently, when it comes to Trump, what Putin wants, Putin gets.

And so he did. By the end of the meeting, President Trump had abandoned all the precursors to a peace deal requested by Ukraine and its European coalition of supporters. Instead, Trump adopted the Russian proposal 100%.

That was no surprise, at least to me. President Putin is a former KGB agent, well-trained in the techniques of seducing and manipulating others. Unfortunately, I don’t think it takes KGB-level skills to manipulate President Trump. It’s not like he doesn’t make his desires very clear. Sadly, I don’t think he really cares about achieving peace in Ukraine. He doesn’t care about people dying in Ukraine and in Russia because of this conflict. In fact, Melania Trump wrote a personal letter to Putin addressing the deaths of women and children in Ukraine, just to ensure SOMEONE in the room brought up the topic. Trump doesn’t care about global politics, or standing by US allies, or defending NATO or other agreements, or which countries are trying to make the world safer and which are undermining international peace.

While I hate to say it, I think all Trump really cares about in this situation is winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Which is very dangerous and very inappropriate for a US President.

But on a personal level? It’s really a very sad statement about President Trump.

I believe he is an emotionally damaged human being. No matter how much he gets, it’s never enough for him. He won the presidency when no one believed that was possible. He lost the next election, but never stopped insisting he had actually won. Then he won again, when again many didn’t believe he had a chance. So far, he has gotten away with most of his policy choices. He got his BBB passed. Most of his opponents in the Republican party have lost elections against Trump-approved candidates, quit, or have changed their rhetoric 180 degrees and come to kiss his ring. He got a $400 million plane from Qatar. He supposed made billions releasing his own crypto currency. He got his long-awaited tank parade down the streets of DC for his birthday. And I could go on and on and on.

But it’s never enough, is it? He is immediately on to his next accomplishment, his next award, his next acknowledgment, his next biggest, best (fill in the blank) ever. In fact, it never seems like he really enjoys any of the things that come to him.

I’ve not been in the same space with President Trump. But from the pictures I’ve seen, I’ve never seen an authentic smile that seems like he is really happy. He has a smirk, but that’s not the same thing. Do any of these many things or accomplishments truly bring him happiness, let alone joy? It doesn’t seem so to me as I look at his pictures. And when I’m being neutral, that makes me sad for him.

So now his new gold ring to chase is a Nobel Peace Prize. And again, I’m sorry, that is not only sad, I think it is delusional.

I don’t know if President Trump has bothered to research how the Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded. Let’s just say, I have my doubts that he has. If he had, he would know that it’s not a popularity contest. It isn’t based on how many people follow you on social media, or like your posts, or how much money you have (supposedly). People don’t get to vote for you. The decision is made by 5 Norwegian individuals, most of whom are retired Norwegian politicians. They are supported in their deliberations by Nobel Committee staff and a small group of Norwegian university professors.

So I’m sorry, President Trump, but it is a small and elite group of Europeans who choose the Nobel Peace Prize. And, to be honest, you’re not Europe’s favorite person right now. Between pulling out of European-based agreements, criticizing and threatening NATO, all the back and forth about tariffs, and some not-kind things you have said about some of their leaders…well, I’m afraid you and your renewed BF4Now comrade President Putin, you might just be one of the top people on their “Naughty” list.

Also, just to remind you, Norway is part of Scandinavia. Scandinavian Europe is even more upset with you because you insisted that you were going to acquire Greenland, which is a territory of the Scandinavian country of Denmark.

Then, there is the issue of the people who have nominated you for the award. Unfortunately, quite a number of them are authoritarian leaders who are not afraid to use violence to secure their own power. The most public nomination we know about in the US is from Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. But somehow, I don’t think Nobel Peace Prize committee members seeing videos of the children starving in Gaza because the Israeli military refuses to allow international food and other aid to reach the people are going to find your sponsor very appealing. As The Daily Show comedian Ronny Chieng said at the time, Netanyahu nominating you for a Peace Prize is “right up there with a Husband of the Year nomination from O.J. Simpson.”

Then, there is also historical precedence to consider. As George Santayana wrote in his 1905 book, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I know history isn’t really one of President Trump’s strengths, but the Cross family is BIG into that topic.

What this reminds me of is George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003. After the Twin Towers terrorist attacks of 2001, the US was still highly inflamed about Arabic terrorism. President Bush spent close to a year trying to convince US citizens and the world that Iraq was amassing “weapons of mass destruction” that could only be stopped through military intervention. Other international bodies, such as the UN, said that wasn’t the case.

Nevertheless, in March 2003, the US military and a few allies, including England, Australia, and Poland, invaded Iraq. Other long-standing US allies, such as France, Germany, and New Zealand refused to join the coalition, arguing that there was no evidence of these weapons.

The “war” was over in just over a month. I believe this was the original example of “shock and awe.” The Iraqi military was totally overwhelmed by the military superiority of the US and allies. The allies lost only a few hundred people (still too many), whereas the Iraqis lost thousands, including civilians.

Unfortunately, as the military swept through the country, they found….NO weapons of mass destruction. So either US intelligence was totally wrong, or the Bush administration simply lied to justify a military campaign they wanted to make. Maybe because his father, George Bush, had been criticized during his Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 for having pulled out too soon and not having resolved the issue of Iraq? As far as I know, we still don’t know the answers to these questions. But even after the war, US military remained stationed in Iraqi for many years, which was controversial.

Let’s skip ahead to 2009, when Barack Obama took office as the first African American President of the US. In October 2009, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize….for basically nothing. He had not ended any great conflict. The award said it was for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

The thing is, Barack Obama was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2009. I’m not sure about the past, but this year Peace Prize nominations need to be in by January 31. I love President Obama, but I don’t think he transformed World Peace in the first 10 days of his presidency.

Instead, I think it was a political choice to send a message to the US. Like President Biden after President Trump’s first term, Obama did work to secure relationships with the UN and allies that criticized the Iraqi invasion. He called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility and reached out to Muslim countries. But it was clearly a more aspirational award–that he would lead the US in a new direction–than it was based on any actual accomplishments towards world peace.

So once again, President Trump, I’m sorry but I don’t think your odds look good for winning this coveted prize. Maybe you could have a shot next year if there ever is an actual working peace agreement. But so far, you’ve irritated most Europeans and haven’t ended the war “in 24 hours” as your promised during your campaign.

To be honest, if we can ever achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine, I don’t think they will reward you for that with a Nobel Peace Prize. I would bet money that if anyone got the prize for that, they would give it to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

And if you have really, really annoyed them, they might award this year’s Peace Prize to former President Biden. I think he did so many great things, domestically and internationally, and don’t understand why he hasn’t gotten much credit for all he has accomplished.

I write all this not in the spirit of schadenfreude, or finding pleasure in the suffering of others (especially if you think they deserve it). I truly wish you could find happiness and satisfaction in your successes. If it really matters to you to get a Nobel Peace Prize, I have compassion for you, because I don’t think it’s going to happen. But perhaps if you get compassion from me and others, you can approach others with more compassion as well.

And what do I know? It’s not like I have an inside track to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.

Anyway, I don’t hate President Trump, as much as I oppose almost all of his policies. But the mothering part of me sees a child who is hurting and feeling unloved and unappreciated, And that makes me sad. May that dynamic shift, which would be a blessing for us all.