US President Donald Trump has attacked the Norwegian Nobel Committee over its decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African human rights advocate Navi Pillay, insisting that he should have received the honour.
Trump described the decision as “disgraceful and embarrassing” during a rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday, saying the outcome had left an “indelible stain” on Norway.
Pillay was awarded the prestigious prize in recognition of her work against war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Reacting to her selection, Trump said he had never heard of the laureate before arguing that the award should have gone to him.
“I never heard of this particular person, but congratulations anyway,” he said.
“The United States of America, represented by me as your president, should have received the Nobel Peace Prize, but didn’t.”
Trump, who returned to the White House in January 2025, has repeatedly expressed his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Before the announcement, experts in Oslo had pointed to his war against Iran, ambitions regarding Greenland, hard-line immigration policies and attacks on multilateralism and the media as factors weighing against his chances.
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He later declared that the Nobel Peace Prize had been “forever discredited” by what he described as radical ideologues opposed to democracy and civilisation.
Pillay, meanwhile, joked about sharing the award with Trump while addressing a crowd that applauded her after the announcement.
“If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump,” she said.
Her comment appeared to reference Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who gave Trump her Nobel gold medal after winning the prize in 2025.
