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By Steve Mollman
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President Donald Trump lashed out at Norway during a campaign rally in Michigan on Sunday, renewing his complaints about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and declaring that the Scandinavian country “sucks.”
Trump, who has repeatedly argued that his record of international diplomacy merits the prestigious award, brought up the Nobel while touting what he described as his success in resolving wars.
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“I settled eight wars and I got two more coming,” Trump told the crowd, before recalling his expectations ahead of this year’s Nobel announcement.
“I said, first lady, I get the Nobel Prize in two weeks, and it'll be an honor,” Trump said. After the prize was announced, however, Trump said “it was gotten by a woman that nobody ever heard of.”
Trump was referring to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, who won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee described as her efforts to promote peace and international law.
“I said, so I'm not in love with Norway,” Trump continued Sunday. “Frankly, Norway sucks. Norway has become a shithouse country, actually.”
He also said: “I don't want anybody from Norway. I don't want anything to do with Norway.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House, the Norwegian Embassy in Washington and the Norwegian Nobel Committee for comment on Sunday.
Why Donald Trump Blames Norway Over the Nobel Peace Prize
Trump has spent years publicly discussing his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize, frequently contrasting his diplomatic record with that of former President Barack Obama, who received the award in 2009.
At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, Trump said he had “ended seven un-endable wars” during the opening months of his second term.
“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel peace prize for each of these achievements,” he said.
By then, Trump had already complained that the Nobel Committee was unlikely to recognize him regardless of his record. In February 2025, he said: “They will never give it to me. It's too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”
In June of that year, Trump said he “should have gotten it four or five times,” pointing to his administration's diplomatic efforts involving conflicts including Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Serbia and Kosovo, India and Pakistan, as well as the Abraham Accords.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, an independent five-member body whose members are appointed by Norway's parliament. The Norwegian government does not select the winner.
That distinction has previously become an issue between Trump and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Trump Previously Said Nobel Snub Changed His Thinking on Peace
Trump's frustration with the Nobel Prize became entangled with his foreign policy toward Norway and other European countries earlier this year.
In January, Trump told Støre that he “no longer feels an obligation to think purely of Peace” after failing to win the 2025 prize.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump wrote to the Norwegian leader.
The message came as Trump was escalating his push to acquire Greenland and threatening tariffs against a group of U.S. allies, including Norway, over opposition to his effort.
Støre responded publicly by stressing that his government does not choose Nobel laureates.
“As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government,” he said.
Trump Attacked 2026 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay
Trump's latest criticism of Norway comes just over two weeks after Pillay was announced as the 2026 winner.
Speaking at a rally in Syracuse, New York, on October 9, Trump said: “Today they gave out the Nobel Peace Prize to a person I never heard of. Nobody did. It's a mystery person.”
He called the decision “an indelible stain” on Norway and argued that his own record of international diplomacy deserved recognition.
The following morning, Trump returned to the subject on Truth Social, listing what he said were his foreign policy accomplishments.
“Yet, with all of that I, or the United States of America, did not get the Noble Peace Prize. WOW!” he wrote, misspelling Nobel.
Pillay, 85, is a former U.N. human rights chief who has served on international courts and tribunals and headed the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Nobel Committee said it selected her “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.”
Her selection also drew criticism from Israel and pro-Israel organizations because of her work leading the U.N. inquiry that concluded Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to genocide, a conclusion Israel has rejected.
Donald Trump’s Long Campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize
Trump's pursuit of the Nobel stretches back to his first presidency.
In 2018, when asked whether he deserved the prize, Trump said “everyone thinks so.” A year later, he said he believed he would receive a Nobel “for a lot of things” if the award were handed out fairly.
Trump has since been the subject of multiple publicly announced Nobel nominations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump at the White House in July 2025 that he had submitted a nomination to the Nobel Committee.
“I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee,” Netanyahu said. “It's nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved and you should get it.”
Trump responded: “Wow. Thank you very much. Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful.”
Pakistan also publicly announced a nomination in 2025.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not disclose the identities of current nominees and keeps its nomination records secret for 50 years, meaning public announcements by nominators do not amount to confirmation by the committee.
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María Corina Machado Gave Trump Her Nobel Medal
Trump's relationship with the Nobel took another unusual turn after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the 2025 prize.
Machado gave Trump her physical Nobel Peace Prize medal during a White House meeting in January 2026, and Trump accepted it.
But Nobel officials subsequently stressed that the prize itself cannot be transferred. While a laureate may give away the physical medal, the status of Nobel laureate remains permanently with the original winner.
Trump referred to the episode again at Sunday's Michigan rally.
“The person who got it, Maria, was very nice,” Trump said. “She said, ‘I can't believe I got it. This should go to President Trump.’ And she gave me her Nobel Peace Prize.”
Trump Received FIFA Peace Prize and ‘Man of the Century’ Award
While the Nobel has remained elusive, Trump has received other awards recognizing him or his diplomacy.
In December 2025, Trump became the inaugural recipient of FIFA's newly created Peace Prize, presented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.
The award has since come under scrutiny, with FIFA saying this month that its Football Social Responsibility Committee would review the prize's creation and the decision to make Trump its inaugural recipient.
Trump received another award just days before Sunday's Michigan appearance.
At an Iowa campaign rally on Thursday, Republican congressional candidate Joe Mitchell presented him with a framed “Man of the Century” award that Mitchell said he had created because Trump had not received the Nobel.
“They've never given you the Nobel Peace Prize, by the way, which is a disgrace,” Mitchell told Trump.
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