Former US President Donald Trump slammed Norway yesterday over its decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, calling the move an "indelible stain" on the country.
During a rally in Syracuse, New York, Trump demanded to know why he had been left out of the prize, a claim that he has repeated several times—in 2025 after Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado won, and now after Pillay’s victory. He declared that he had “settled eight wars” and was “about to settle or win two more,” though he offered no proof for those assertions.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has reiterated that the prize is chosen by an independent committee based in Oslo, not Icelandic government officials. Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said Pillay’s work helped secure the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide on a global scale.
Pillay, the 85‑year‑old South African, was photographed on her way to the ceremony in Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice, holding the trophy and laughing at the idea that she might share it with Trump. She joked that if the crowd clapped a bit more, she could offer the medal to him, a remark made in jest amid her acceptance speech.
The controversy follows Trump’s earlier protests that the Nobel Committee was “political” and had “placed politics over peace.” In response, the committee issued a statement emphasizing that the award is final and not transferable.
