OPINION | Barry Richard: Peacemaker Trump Deserves Nobel Prize

Barack Obama waged two wars for the entirety of his eight years as president, but was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize simply for showing up.

But with historic changes now sweeping the world, including quite possibly an end to the Korean War, there is barely a murmur about recognizing the contributions of Donald Trump to that process.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un made an unprecedented journey overnight across the DMZ to sign a peace treaty and a pledge to denuclearize with his South Korean counterpart, President Moon Jae-In. Let's hope that Kim is serious, and that reunification and demilitarization can bring peace and prosperity to the long-troubled Korean peninsula.

In the words of another great peacemaker, "trust, but verify." Like Ronald Reagan, Trump understands that peace can only be obtained through strength. He has shown strong leadership in his dealings with Kim, who apparently has come to realize that he is out of options, and finds peace preferable to an unwinnable war with the U.S.

Trump's efforts should be recognized by the Nobel committee, but somehow I think he'll be bypassed. After all of today's talking heads and media elites have passed, history will offer a much fairer judgment of Trump's contributions.

And when all is said and done, I suspect those contributions will be thought to have been HUUUUGE!

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.