Trump lashes out at Norway for not receiving Nobel Peace Prize, issues warning

US President Donald Trump has criticized Norway and the Nobel Committee for not receiving the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. He claimed that the award's credibility has been permanently damaged by not receiving it. At the same time, he said, referring to Norway, the country associated with the award, "We will not forget Norway."

Speaking at a campaign rally on Friday (October 9), Trump claimed that his achievements in international diplomacy made him worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, but he accused the committee of deciding to award the prize based on political ideology.

This year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African lawyer and former UN human rights chief Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay for her contributions to peace and international law.

At the rally, Trump said, "As President of the United States, I should have received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the United States, but I didn't."

Calling the committee's decision shameful and embarrassing, he further claimed that extremist ideologues have tarnished the prestige of the award. In his words, they are against democracy and civilization. Trump also questioned the qualifications of the awardee, Pillai. He said that he had never heard of this South African lawyer before.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded this year's prize to Pillay in recognition of her contributions to peace and international law.

Born in 1941 in Durban, South Africa, during the apartheid regime, Pillay became known as a human rights lawyer. He later served as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He later served as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC). He served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.

He also played a judicial role in cases involving genocide and sexual violence during the Rwandan conflict. He most recently served as chairman of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, East Jerusalem and Israel. However, Israel rejected the commission's investigative report.

The award comes amid Washington's growing tension with the international judiciary, the report said. The same day the Trump administration imposed new sanctions against the International Criminal Court, further escalating the US's conflict with European countries that support the court.

Trump claims diplomatic success

Trump has long claimed he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his interventions in international conflicts. At Friday's rally, he also called for stopping eight wars, while also touting the possibility of further progress on Iran and the Russia-Ukraine wars.

However, the veracity and scope of his claims are disputed. Some of the conflicts Trump mentioned have yet to reach a full peace agreement. In others, ceasefires or diplomatic agreements have been reached but have not resulted in a lasting solution to the underlying conflict.

The United States joined Israel in the war against Iran earlier this year. Although Washington later attempted to resolve the situation through negotiations, questions have been raised about Trump's portrayal of himself as an ambassador of international peace with military intervention.

Trump has also promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war. But Russia's military campaign continues and there is still no full peace agreement.

Trump's feud with the Nobel committee is not new. He has been comparing his diplomatic achievements to those of former US President Barack Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, less than a year after taking office.

Controversy surrounds Machadur's Nobel Prize

The report also cited Trump's relationship with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in promoting democratic rights and political change in Venezuela, as a contributing factor to his frustration.

In January 2026, he gave his Nobel Prize to Trump as a symbolic gesture. However, the Nobel Committee later said that the Nobel Prize cannot be formally transferred even if the medal is awarded to someone else. The prize cannot be withdrawn, divided, or transferred to someone else's name.

Norway is facing a diplomatic row over Trump's anger over the Nobel committee's decision, even though the country's government has no direct say in the selection of laureates. The Nobel Peace Prize is selected by an independent five-member committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament.

According to Alfred Nobel's will, this committee is responsible for awarding the prize to the person or organization that has made the most significant contribution to peace.

Therefore, after Trump's warning, the question has arisen whether dissatisfaction with the independent committee's decision will also affect the United States' relationship with Norway, a long-time NATO ally.

The controversy comes amid Washington's growing opposition to international courts, with Russia demanding the extradition of ICC President Tomoko Akane and other court officials over their judicial activities in the Ukraine war.

In this situation, the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to former ICC judge Pillay has become part of a larger debate about the international judicial system, beyond Trump's personal disappointment at not receiving the award.

According to the report, the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize will be officially awarded on December 10 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.