US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised the Norwegian Nobel Committee after failing to win the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, declaring that the prestigious award has permanently lost its credibility.
Speaking at a political rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday, Trump expressed frustration over the decision to award the prize to South African human rights lawyer and former United Nations official Navi Pillay.
Trump said the United States, represented by him as president, should have received the honour, accusing the committee of making a politically motivated decision.
He described the outcome as an indelible stain on Norway and condemned those responsible for what he called a disgraceful and embarrassing choice.
The president went further, declaring that the Nobel Peace Prize had lost its credibility forever and accusing members of the selection committee of ideological extremism and hostility towards democracy.
Trump also claimed that he had never heard of Pillay, whose selection was announced earlier on Friday.
The 85-year-old South African jurist was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her decades of work promoting international law, human rights and accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Pillay previously served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and as a judge at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
She also chaired a UN commission of inquiry that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, an allegation rejected by Israeli authorities.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Pillay’s commitment to international justice, highlighting her efforts to strengthen legal institutions and hold perpetrators of serious international crimes accountable.
Trump has repeatedly argued that his diplomatic efforts to resolve international conflicts deserve Nobel recognition, presenting his foreign policy record as evidence that he should receive the award.
His latest criticism follows his unsuccessful bid for the 2025 prize and renews a public dispute over the committee’s selection process.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for choosing the Peace Prize recipient independently of the Norwegian government.
The 2026 award will formally be presented in Oslo on December 10.
