February 1st marked the deadline for people to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Naturally, last-minute nominations came in from all over the globe in the hopes of honoring those worthy of the prize. But while the field contains a diverse number of nominees from all walks of life, one of the most surprising is unarguably Donald Trump. Even his supporters have to admit that "peaceful" isn't the first word that springs to mind when discussing the businessman and politician. So how did Donald Trump make the nominations? And does he stand a chance of winning?

Anonymous Nomination

Thousands of people qualify to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize (although the list is kept a secret), and one decided to use their vote to get Donald Trump in the running. All that the Nobel Committee would confirm was that the nomination was sincere, and completely legitimate (and that it came from a United States politician). So far, no one has come forward to claim credit for this move. The list of nominees is supposed to remain a secret for 50 years, but the past few have seen a few high-profile names get leaked to the media.

In Good Company

While those that make the shortlist (and obviously the winners) are usually the ones that get the publicity, it's important to remember that the Nobel Peace Prize has seen some decidedly unusual nominees in its time. Vladimir Putin has been nominated, along with Josef Stalin, Al Gore, U2 singer Bono, and even Adolf Hitler. And keep in mind, the entire European Union and Henry Kissinger both rank as winners of the Nobel Peace Prize over the years. (For those wondering: Edward Snowden, Angela Merkel, and Pope Francis all made the list of nominees for 2016). So really, anything is possible.

Winner Takes All

But despite the publicity and controversy surrounding the nomination (considering his aggressive stance on a number of political issues, 'peaceful' may not be the best way to describe Trump), the Nobel Committee considers it extremely unlikely that Trump will ultimately win the award. So why would someone use their nomination if they didn't think he had a chance to go all the way?

Politics As Usual

There's no bad publicity in this day and age, especially when you're fighting for the presidency. Even if it turns out that Trump doesn't even make the shortlist of potential winners, the media is already all over this story (including many websites having to assure readers that no, this is not an Onion article). Donald Trump can now say that he is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, no matter what the ultimate outcome. It's an impressive title for anyone, particularly someone with their sights set on the White House.

Eyes On The Prize

If this turns out to be a move for publicity (and most experts seem to agree on this point), it's a smart move that has already generated a fair amount of attention for Donald Trump. If, on the other hand, the person who nominated Trump truly believes he'll win the Nobel Peace Prize -- well, he might want to brace himself for a big disappointment.

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