The Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced in early October, weeks before the midterm elections. President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE and some of his supporters appear to be virtually yearning for the prize as he negotiates with North Korea with the hope of reaching an agreement that would give him the ultimate political trophy before voters choose in November.

There are two volatile wild cards that will affect the voting in November. The first is what happens in the Korean negotiations.

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The second is what happens in the Mueller investigation of Russia’s attack against America, and the continuing cascade of negative news and revelations about the Russia probe and other scandals plaguing the Trump administration.

Democrats should beware: It is within the realm of possibility that President Trump succeeds in Korea and is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

For this and other reasons, in my column this week, I suggested that former President Obama, who is far more popular than Trump with voters, should make an all-out effort to speak out major issues.

He should defend ObamaCare and blame Republicans for the massive increases in insurance premiums that will soon be front-page news.

Conservatives should beware: If Trump is ultimately awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he would almost certainly share it with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, an unappetizing bedfellow.

To achieve the success that would bring the prize, Trump would have to make more concessions than President Obama did achieving the Iran deal that Trump deplores.

Trump should beware: Aggressive Republican attacks against Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE and the FBI, which become more hostile and frenetic every day, will backfire against him. His acolytes in the media do him no service with their drumbeat of attacks against the widely respected, politically nonpartisan and deeply patriotic Mueller.

Political pundits beware: The North Korean negotiations and Mueller’s investigation of the Russia scandal will intersect with the midterm elections in ways that are highly volatile, dramatic and unpredictable.

Trump made a big mistake by declaring war against the Iran deal, which will not be a big hit with the Nobel Peace Prize committee, and much more important, will strengthen the negotiating position of North Korea in the upcoming talks.

Every American should wish the Korea negotiations succeed, regardless of the political impact, but Trump’s repeated praise for Kim Jong Un does not augur well for the negotiations on any level.

Trump has now referred to North Korean dictator and mass murderer Kim Jong Un as being “nice” for releasing the three hostages. All Americans are thrilled that the hostages are back in America, but taking hostages and then releasing them is not nice.

Trump has previously referred to the North Korean dictator as being very open and honorable, which should make all Americans cringe.

Trump is making the mistake he often accused Obama of making: He wants a deal too much. Kim Jong Un murders political opponents. He fills his jails with political prisoners. Trump’s newfound praise of him will be interpreted by North Korea as negotiating weakness.

If Trump’s renunciation of the Iran deal leads Iran to resume its nuclear program, Kim Jong Un will know very well that the American military will be stretched dangerously thin with new nuclear dangers in the Middle East, while he negotiates with Trump over nuclear dangers in Asia.

It would be dangerous to American security, and politically dangerous to Trump and Republicans, if Korean negotiations break down and military tensions rise in Asia, while Iran resumes its nuclear program and military tensions rise in the Middle East.

Kim Jong Un is evil, but he is not stupid. He will demand American concessions in return for North Korean concessions. The way diplomacy works, those concessions from both sides will be phased in, in stages.

To the degree that Trump appears to be hungry for an agreement, North Korea will demand more concessions at an earlier stage. A successful agreement with North Korea would probably look like the Iran deal that Trump despises.

Trump’s praise of Kim Jong Un will be interpreted as negotiating weakness. It could well lead the North Korean dictator to make demands that Trump could never agree to, in which case the danger of war would replace talk of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Meanwhile, the Mueller investigation advances, revelations continue unabated, scandal stories keep coming, attacks against the widely admired Mueller keep escalating, and word of new indictments and plea bargains are probable before Election Day.

It is possible, though unlikely, that Trump is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize shortly before the midterms, but only if he shows the flexibility and judgment Obama showed during his negotiations, which is anathema to Trump.

It is also possible, and more likely, that bombshells of scandals and indictments escalate before the midterms, and illusions about the Nobel Peace Prize evaporate, which would create a worst-case scenario for the GOP in November.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.