US President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the Nobel Peace Prize after South African jurist Navi Pillay was named this year’s laureate, describing the decision as an “indelible stain” on Norway and accusing the prize’s decision-makers of being anti-democratic.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday, Trump called the award decision “disgraceful and embarrassing” and dismissed Pillay as a “mystery person”, saying he had never heard of her.
“I never heard of the person. Nobody did,” he said.
“This is an indelible stain on the country of Norway and those people that made such a disgraceful and embarrassing decision,” Trump added.
Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration at not receiving the peace prize, arguing that he deserves recognition for his role in international diplomacy.
On Friday, he listed several conflicts he claimed to have helped resolve or prevent, including tensions involving North and South Korea, Japan and North Korea, and China and Taiwan, without providing evidence for the claims.
“The Nobel Peace Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of radical ideologues who are anti-democracy and really enemies of civilisation. And we will not forget, Norway,” Trump said.
Pillay recognised for work on peace and international law
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Pillay, 85, for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
The committee said the international legal system was under tremendous pressure and warned against a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks and respect for justice.
Pillay, a former judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and former UN high commissioner for human rights, has spent decades working on human rights and international justice.
She also served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which prosecuted those responsible for the 1994 genocide.
She chaired a UN commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel has rejected.
The award comes amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and international legal institutions. Washington has imposed sanctions on the ICC, which has faced US opposition over its actions involving Israeli leaders.
The Nobel Peace Prize is due to be presented in Oslo on December 10.
