President Donald Trump expressed disappointment with the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision not to award him the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. He cited numerous achievements that he believed merited recognition.
Trump claimed to have resolved eight wars and was close to settling two additional conflicts. He mentioned securing the release of Israeli hostages, stating he got all the hostages back, both living and deceased. He also highlighted efforts to release hundreds of hostages from various countries and claimed success in winning a war in Venezuela. Additionally, Trump described preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
On Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social, emphasizing, “With all of that I, or the United States of America, did not get the Nobel Peace Prize. WOW!”
Trump has shown interest in the Nobel Prize since 2018 when Norwegian lawmakers nominated him for work related to North Korea and nuclear disarmament. In 2019, he remarked that he thought he would receive a Nobel Prize if awarded fairly.
“I think I’m going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t,” he noted in a 2019 news conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, emphasizing his contributions. Trump has received at least five nominations from various leaders, including former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Despite these nominations, the Nobel Prize was awarded to South African jurist Navi Pillay. She became the first non-White woman appointed to South Africa’s high court and later served at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. Pillay’s role as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights ran from 2008 to 2014.
Her nomination stirred controversy. Critics argued her work with the U.N.’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Palestinian Territory and Israel showed an anti-Israel bias. Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices, described Pillay as spreading antisemitic views globally.
The U.N. commended Pillay for her commitment to international law and human rights, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praising her “steadfast” dedication.