The U.S. President Trump, who has been eyeing the Nobel Peace Prize, has now turned his attention to the American currency.

At around 12:00 a.m. local time on October 9, U.S. President Trump shared an opinion article written by Republican U.S. House Representative Andy Barr on the social platform "Truth Social." The title of the article was "Why I'm Leading Legislation to Put Trump's Portrait on the New $250 Bill," which was published in the American media outlet "Washington Reporter."

In this article, Andy Barr passionately called for: "Next year, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding. This historic milestone not only gives us the opportunity to reflect on the courage of the Founding Fathers, but should also prompt us to honor leaders who have revitalized the 'American Dream' in our times."

Andy Barr praised a series of so-called "achievements" of Trump's second term, claiming that he "completely reformed American politics, brought the largest tax cuts in American history for working families, and is currently cleaning up the most severe chaos at the U.S. border in history." He then stated that issuing a $250 bill with Trump's portrait is "the appropriate way to honor the most historically significant president of our era."

The article concluded with: "Let us pay tribute to the president who made America great again. A $250 bill with Trump's portrait is not only a fitting gift, but also a powerful reminder to the world that America's brightest days are still ahead."

Concept image of a $250 bill with Trump's portrait generated by AI. Image source: foreign media

For this, the American media "Beast" sarcastically pointed out that Trump "often fantasizes about engraving himself into the national mythology of the United States" and tries to be ranked alongside the country's founding fathers on the national currency.

Some media pointed out that this move is another example of Republicans trying to flatter Trump in various ways. Previously, Republicans had proposed a series of so-called "tributes to Trump," including naming Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump, putting Trump's portrait on a $100 bill, and even carving Trump's face on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota (also known as "Presidents' Mountain"), but none of these proposals were implemented.

Lately, the U.S. Department of the Treasury proposed minting a one-dollar commemorative coin to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026. According to the design draft of the commemorative coin, Trump's image appears on both sides of the coin. U.S. Treasury official Brandon Beach has publicly confirmed the authenticity of the design sketch.

However, analysts point out that this plan is already legally untenable. According to a law passed in 2020, although the U.S. Department of the Treasury can mint a one-dollar commemorative coin in 2026 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, it explicitly requires that the design "must reflect the symbolic significance of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States." More importantly, current U.S. laws prohibit depicting the portraits of living presidents on currency; only the portraits of deceased presidents can be printed on currency.

On the other hand, "Beast" reported that the reason why Trump himself shared this article full of sycophancy might be due to the sentence "No president is more qualified than Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize."

At around 5 p.m. Beijing Time on October 10, the Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the winner of this year's Peace Prize. Previously, foreign media had reported that Trump has been actively lobbying to win this award.

Bloomberg reported on October 4 that U.S. Middle East envoy Wittkower urged the Norwegian Nobel Committee in August to award the Peace Prize to Trump. Trump claimed that if the committee does not do so, it would be a "great insult to the United States." In addition, Wittkower and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio secretly lobbied European leaders to support Trump's award, while Trump himself also called the Norwegian Finance Minister and former NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg to discuss the Nobel Prize issue.

In August, the White House claimed that leaders or institutions from multiple countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Cambodia, Gabon, Rwanda, and Pakistan, had nominated or supported Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, according to analysis by Associated Press, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee prioritizes sustained multilateral efforts rather than quick diplomatic victories.

Nina Graeger, director of the Oslo Peace Research Institute (PRIO), believes that Trump's actions contradict the spirit of the Nobel Prize, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, imposing tariffs on allies, and launching trade wars, which are difficult to be seen as "promoting international friendship." She believes that Trump's chances of winning the prize this year are "remote," stating that "his statements do not point to a future of peace." She also added that Trump openly declared he might win the award, but this could be detrimental to him, because the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not want to be seen as "yielding to political pressure."

This article is an exclusive piece by Observers, and it cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559194578566283818/

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