US President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack over not receiving the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, claiming he deserved the honour eight times, once for every war he says he has resolved. Speaking at a public rally in Syracuse on Friday, he targeted the Nobel Committee and Norway with his remarks.
Trump’s reaction came after this year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to Navi Pillay, the South African former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “As President of the United States, I should have received the Nobel Peace Prize. But they did not give it. This is a permanent stain on Norway. The people who made this decision did a disgraceful thing,” he said, describing the Nobel Committee as “radical ideologists and anti-democrats.” Referring to the laureate, he remarked sarcastically, “I have never heard her name. They gave the prize to a liberal who works at the UN. Nobody listens to her. Anyway, congratulations.”
Trump claimed he had resolved eight wars during his presidency. He said he prevented a war between India and Pakistan, saving around 50 million lives, and that he stopped Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, thereby averting a grave danger to West Asia, Europe, and the United States. He added that he is trying to bring the ongoing wars involving Iran and Russia-Ukraine to an end soon.
Four US presidents have previously received the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama. Notably, Trump has often criticised Obama for receiving the award in his first year in office, remarking that he was given the prize “without doing anything.”