'Frankly, Norway Sucks': Trump Slams Scandinavian Nation Over Missing the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

Donald Trump criticised Norway at a campaign rally in Michigan on Sunday after Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay received the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, repeating his claim that his diplomatic record merited the award.

The president told supporters he had expected to receive the prize before its announcement earlier this month. He referred to Pillay as 'a woman that nobody ever heard of', then broadened his criticism to Norway, though the Norwegian government does not select Nobel laureates.

Trump Renews Nobel Peace Prize Complaint

Trump stated, 'I settled eight wars and I got two more coming', referring to Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war. He then recalled telling the first lady, 'I said, 'first lady, I get the Nobel Prize in two weeks, and it'll be an honor,'

After the result, Trump said, 'I said, so I'm not in love with Norway.' He added, 'Frankly, Norway sucks. Norway has become a s***house country, actually.'

He also told the Michigan crowd, 'I don't want anybody from Norway. I don't want anything to do with Norway.'

Pillay, 85, is a South African jurist and former United Nations human rights chief. The Norwegian Nobel Committee described her selection as recognition for efforts to promote peace and international law. The supplied material states that Israel and pro-Israel organisations criticised her work leading a UN inquiry which concluded Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to genocide, a conclusion Israel has rejected.

Trump And Norway's Nobel Peace Prize Role

The prize is awarded by the independent five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose members are appointed by Norway's parliament. The Norwegian government does not select the winner.

That distinction was central to an exchange between Trump and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre earlier this year. In January, Trump wrote to Støre after failing to win the 2025 prize, 'Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.'

The message arrived as Trump was pursuing Greenland and threatening tariffs against US allies, including Norway, according to the supplied material. Støre responded that the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee rather than the Norwegian government.

Trump had returned to the subject at a Syracuse, New York rally on 9 October, after Pillay's win was announced. He called the decision 'an indelible stain' on Norway and wrote on Truth Social that neither he nor the United States had received the 'Noble Peace Prize', misspelling Nobel.

Trump's Long Pursuit Of Nobel Peace Prize

Trump has publicly pursued the Nobel across both presidencies. At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, he said he had 'ended seven un-endable wars' during the opening months of his second term and added, 'Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of these achievements.'

Publicly announced nominations do not establish that a nomination is before the committee. The committee keeps nomination records secret for 50 years and does not disclose current nominees, the supplied material states.

Trump also referred in Michigan to María Corina Machado, the 2025 winner, who gave him her physical medal at a White House meeting in January. Nobel officials subsequently stressed that the award itself cannot be transferred, even if its medal is given away.