Trump calls Nobel decision a stain on Norway as Pillay wins

US President Donald Trump said the award of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay was an “indelible stain on the country of Norway”, hours after the Norwegian Nobel Committee named the former International Criminal Court judge as its winner on Friday. He was speaking at a rally in Syracuse, New York.

What did Donald Trump say about the Nobel Peace Prize?

Speaking to supporters in Syracuse, Trump described the committee’s decision as “disgraceful and embarrassing” and said he had “never heard” of the “mystery person” who won. “We will not forget,” he said. He also said: “The Nobel Peace Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of radical ideologues who are anti-democracy and really enemies of civilisation.” Trump repeated his claim that he had settled eight wars and was “about to settle or win two more”, without providing evidence.

Who won the Nobel Peace Prize?

Navi Pillay, 85, is a South African who served as a judge at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and as United Nations human rights chief. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said she was recognised “for her efforts to promote peace and international law”, which it said paved the way for a “more comprehensive global legal order”. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said Pillay’s work had been “instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted”. Reacting from Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice, Pillay said “it must be a joke” and thanked those gathered to applaud her, adding: “If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump.”

Has Trump criticised the Nobel committee before?

Trump complained publicly in 2025, when the prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, and the White House accused the committee of placing “politics over peace”. Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at the time that the prize is decided by an independent committee based in Norway, not by the Norwegian government. In January, Machado gave her medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House, which she said recognised his commitment to her country’s freedom; Trump called the move “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.

The dispute has run alongside wider US legal action over Venezuela: charges against Nicolás Maduro over a torture conspiracy and an indictment of Maduro and his wife in New York on torture charges.

The Nobel committee later clarified that a prize cannot be transferred. “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others,” it said. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Nobel Peace Prize this year?

Navi Pillay, an 85-year-old South African former International Criminal Court judge, International Court of Justice judge and United Nations human rights chief, was awarded the prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.

What did Donald Trump say about Norway?

Trump called the award of the prize to Navi Pillay an “indelible stain on the country of Norway”, described the decision as “disgraceful and embarrassing”, and said he had never heard of the winner.

Can a Nobel Peace Prize be transferred to another person?

No. After María Corina Machado gave her 2025 medal to Donald Trump, the Nobel committee said a prize cannot be revoked, shared or transferred once it has been announced.

Who decides who receives the Nobel Peace Prize?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, an independent body based in Norway, decides the laureate. Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre made that point to Trump after the 2025 award.

With reporting from BBC News.

Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)