Trump calls Nobel committee 'enemies of civilisation' and vows Norway 'will not forget' snub over Pillay prize

From the Newshound archive · first published 11 October 2026.

Trump lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee after South African jurist Navi Pillay received the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, calling the choice "an indelible stain" on Norway and denouncing the committee as "a handful of radical ideologues who are anti-democracy and really enemies of civilisation." In a Truth Social post and at a Syracuse rally, he ran through eight conflicts he says he brought to an end, and questioned what Pillay had ever achieved. Rubio announced sweeping US sanctions on the International Criminal Court — of which Pillay is a former judge — the same day.

Trump dismissed Pillay as "a mystery person" nobody has heard of, despite her decades defending Nelson Mandela and prosecuting genocide.

Pillay responded with a quip at Nuremberg: 'If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.'

Trump has now been passed over for the Nobel Prize in every year of both his presidencies; last year's winner, María Corina Machado, offered him her own prize as a consolation gesture.