WASHINGTON — Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant is among a group of governors backing President Donald Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “transformative efforts to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.”
In a letter this week to Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Berit Reiss-Andersen, the governors wrote that Trump’s “firm stance against nuclearization, coupled with his willingness to engage one-on-one with Pyongyang, has succeeded in opening new avenues of cooperation, friendship and unity between the two Koreas – and the rest of the world.”
Other signatories to the letter include Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo; Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer; Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey; West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice; Maine Gov. Paul LePage; and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
Governors are not listed among those who can officially make Nobel nominations, according to the organization’s website .
The governors’ letter came amid reports from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that North Korea was canceling a high-level meeting planned between the two countries due to the ongoing military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. The meeting planned for Wednesday at a border truce village to discuss setting up military and Red Cross talks aimed at reducing border tension and restarting reunions between families separated by the Korean War.
Yonhap also said North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency reported that Pyongyang was questioning whether next month’s summit between Kim and Trump could also take place as planned.
The letter follows one from 18 U.S. House Republicans, who earlier this month formally nominated Trump for the award amid preparations for a historic summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has also promoted the idea, sending an email encouraging supporters to “Nominate President Trump to Win the Nobel Peace Prize” by adding their name to a list.