House GOP leader says Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize for UAE-Israel-Bahrain peace deal

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that President Trump deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. 

Trump has been nominated by a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the historic peace agreements signed this week normalizing relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab states Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. He was also nominated by a member of the Swedish parliament along with the governments of Kosovo and Serbia "for their joint work for peace and economic development, through the cooperation agreement signed in the White House."

Asked whether Trump deserved the award from the Norwegian Nobel Committee, McCarthy replied, "Yeah, I do."

The California Republican attended the signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords at the White House Sept. 15. 

"It was a very moving moment," McCarthy said at a press conference. "Think for one moment, not one country, but two recognizing Israel. Think for a moment of how much the world has spent on trying to find peace in the Middle East. It's not a Republican or Democrat issue.

"It's an issue for all of the world to keep it safer. I think it's something we would all celebrate, regardless of who was able to achieve it. And I think it was only because President Trump took new eyes and new thought to it. They didn't try the same old way in the same old place."

McCarthy criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for calling votes while the ceremony was taking place Tuesday at the White House and noted that the California Democrat had referred to the event as a distraction.

"They are so out of step," the minority leader said of the Democrats. "Can they not move politics out and put what's good for the American public first?"

In an interview on CNN Friday, Pelosi said, "Good for him for having a distraction on a day when the numbers of people who are affected and the numbers of people who are dying from this virus only increases."