The Trump Nobel Peace Prize snub continued on Friday, as US President Donald Trump reacted with fury to the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize announcement, calling the choice of South African jurist Navi Pillay “a disgraceful and embarrassing decision”. Addressing a rally in Syracuse, New York, Trump insisted the honour should have gone to him instead.
The snub is the second straight year the US president has been passed over for an award he has openly coveted. The Norwegian Nobel Committee named Pillay, 85, as this year’s laureate for her work promoting peace and international law.
“The United States of America, represented by me as your president, should have received the Nobel Peace Prize, but didn’t,” Trump told supporters. He added that he had never heard of Pillay, calling her a “mystery person”.
Trump went further, declaring the decision “an indelible stain on the country of Norway”. He claimed the prize “has been forever discredited” by the committee’s choice.
The Trump Nobel Peace Prize snub in context
The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured Pillay for her role as “a driving force in the development of an international system of law and order”. Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said an international legal system in which war criminals are held to account is “a precondition for a peaceful world”.
Pillay is a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a former judge of the International Criminal Court. Between 2021 and 2025, she led the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Reacting to the announcement in Nuremberg, Germany, Pillay said the news “must be a joke” before thanking well-wishers. She later joked that if the applause continued, she might share the prize with Trump.
The award carries a gold medal, a diploma and prize money of $1.2 million.
Trump’s long campaign for the prize
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has made little secret of his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He has repeatedly argued that his diplomatic record deserves international recognition, claiming credit for settling eight wars.
At the Syracuse rally, he repeated that claim and said he deserved “eight Nobel Prizes for each war”. He also accused Norway of “ripping off” the United States.
Trump had earlier amplified criticism of Pillay by reposting a statement from American attorney David Schoen, who called her an “unabashed hater of America”. The statement questioned the UN inquiry into Israel’s conduct in Gaza that Pillay had led.
Experts in Oslo had said before the announcement that Trump’s war against Iran, his territorial ambitions and his attacks on multilateral institutions had disqualified him.
A repeat of last year’s disappointment
Trump voiced similar complaints in 2025, when the prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. In a striking twist, Machado later gave her Nobel gold medal to Trump.
This year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had publicly hoped the prize would go to Trump, but the committee chose Pillay instead. The decision underlines the committee’s preference for defenders of international legal institutions at a time when, in its words, “the system of international law is under tremendous pressure”.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize?
South African jurist Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting peace and international law, including her leadership of the UN inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory.
Why did Trump call the decision disgraceful?
Trump argued the prize should have gone to him for settling what he claims are eight wars. He called the committee’s choice “a disgraceful and embarrassing decision” and an “indelible stain” on Norway.
Has Trump won the Nobel Peace Prize before?
No. Trump has been passed over twice in a row, in 2025 and 2026, despite openly campaigning for the award. In 2025, winner María Corina Machado gave him her gold medal.
What is the Nobel Peace Prize worth?
The prize includes a gold medal, a diploma and $1.2 million in prize money.
*Sources: The News, NobelPrize.org. Related: Navi Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, Anne Carson wins Nobel Prize in Literature 2026, Trump rules out Iran attack before midterms.*
