US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized the latest Nobel Peace Prize decision, calling it a major embarrassment for Norway. The award went to South African jurist Navi Pillay, and Trump did not hold back in his response.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday, Trump described the choice as “disgraceful and embarrassing.” He said he had never heard of Pillay and claimed most people had not either. “I never heard of the person. Nobody did,” Trump told the crowd. He went further, labeling the decision an “indelible stain” on Norway and on the people who selected the winner.
Trump has long expressed disappointment over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize himself. He believes his efforts in international diplomacy deserve recognition. At the rally, he listed several situations he claimed to have helped calm or prevent, including tensions between North and South Korea, Japan and North Korea, and China and Taiwan. He offered no detailed evidence for these claims.
He also accused the prize decision-makers of being “radical ideologues” who oppose democracy and act as “enemies of civilisation.” Trump made it clear he would not forget Norway’s role in the award.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee gave the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to the 85-year-old Pillay for her long work promoting peace and international law. The committee noted that the global legal system faces heavy pressure and warned against replacing legal rules with pure power politics.
Pillay has a long record in human rights and justice. She previously served as a judge at the International Criminal Court and as UN high commissioner for human rights. She also worked on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which handled cases from the 1994 genocide. More recently, she chaired a UN commission that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel firmly rejects.
The award arrives at a time of rising friction between the Trump administration and international legal bodies. Washington has already placed sanctions on the ICC because of actions involving Israeli leaders. Trump’s sharp words show how deep those tensions have become.
