United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has broken his silence after the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize snub. The 80-year-old Republican president has repeatedly expressed that he deserves to win the iconic award; however, despite his claims the Norwegian committee didn’t decide in his favour.
Trump lashed out at Norway after missing out on the prize again, calling the decision an “indelible stain” that would not be forgotten.
The 47th POTUS’s administration went a step ahead and sanctioned the International Criminal Court after the former ICC Judge Navi Pillay was named the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Though, the announcement didn’t mention any direct link between Trump not winning the prize and US sanctioning the court.
Trump has openly campaigned for the prize and has repeatedly argued that his role in international diplomacy makes him deserving of it. Instead, the Norwegian Nobel Committee chose Pillay, 85, praising her decades-long work on international law and human rights.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Syracuse and later posting on Truth Social, he claimed he had settled eight wars and was close to resolving two more.
He also dismissed Pillay as a little-known liberal figure and accused the Nobel committee of discrediting the prize by passing him over.
Pillay previously chaired a United Nations commission that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding strongly rejected by both Israel and the United States. Israel has accused the commission of bias, while Pillay has rejected allegations of antisemitism.
The timing of the US sanctions therefore drew additional attention.
Washington moved to ban transactions with the ICC and further restrict its access to US financial and technology systems. The court condemned the measures as an attack on the rule of law.
Trump, meanwhile, said every president and prime minister from countries he claimed to have helped had written to the Nobel committee on his behalf.
“This is an indelible stain on Norway,” he said.
The Nobel committee itself is independent of the Norwegian government, although its five members are appointed by Norway’s parliament. Current lawmakers and government ministers cannot serve on it.
This year, 208 people and 79 organisations were nominated for the Peace Prize.
2026-10-10 19:23:00
