Trump takes Nobel Prize snub to Truth Social in late-night rant: ‘Indelible stain’

WorldPolitics
10 Oct 2026 • 11:02 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Trump takes Nobel Prize snub to Truth Social in late-night rant: ‘Indelible stain’

President Donald Trump continued his sour-grapes rant against Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay on Truth Social late Friday, claiming he deserved the award for settling eight wars and calling the decision to overlook him an “indelible stain” on Norway.

In a lengthy Truth Social post hours after the Nobel Committee announced Pillay as this year’s recipient, Trump questioned the South African human rights lawyer’s qualifications, accused her of hating Israel and listed what he described as his diplomatic achievements.

“This is the woman who received the Nobel Peace Prize over the Great United States of America, whose Representative, ME, settled eight Wars, and many other things,” Trump wrote alongside a photo of the 85-year-old Pillay.

“I know nothing about this woman, and neither does anyone else! In fact, to the best of my knowledge, no one ever heard of her other than the fact that she, very obviously, hates Israel. I don’t know what the woman has done.”

Pillay is a prominent jurist who has spent decades working on human rights and international justice. She previously defended imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and held senior positions within the United Nations.

At the Nuremberg court where Pillay was attending an academic and legal conference, she addressed attendees and made a joke at Trump’s expense, in footage shared by Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnes Callamard.

Walking into a room of applause, she said: “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.”

That may have helped set Trump off, but likely anyione who won would have been the target of his vitriol.

Trump went on to detail his claims of international diplomatic successes, writing: “I settled 8 WARS, am close to ending or settling 2 more, got all of the Israeli hostages back, including the final 28, both living and dead, had hundreds of hostages, from countries all over the World, released and sent back home, won a war in Venezuela, and captured the violent dictator who so viciously ran that country, and stopped the number one state sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon — AND MUCH MORE! Yet, with all of that I, or the United States of America, did not get the Noble (sic) Peace Prize. WOW!”

Trump has repeatedly argued that his efforts to resolve international conflicts make him deserving of the prestigious award.

The president also criticized the Nobel Committee’s decision during a rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday night, taking aim at Norway over the outcome.

“And this is a stain on the country of Norway,” Trump told the crowd. “We will not forget, Norway. It’s another sign of how they’re ripping off our country.”

Pillay is a veteran human rights lawyer and jurist who previously defended imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and held senior roles at the UN (AFP/Getty)

He reiterated the criticism on Truth Social, writing: “The United States of America, represented by me, as your President, should have received the Nobel Peace Prize, but didn’t. This is an indelible stain on Norway, one that will never be forgotten.”

“The Nobel ‘Peace’ Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of Radical Ideologues who are Anti-Democracy, and Enemies of Civilization!” he added.

Last year, Pillay led a UN commission of inquiry that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, citing evidence that it intended to destroy Palestinians in the territory. Israel has strongly rejected allegations of genocide.

Her work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has also drawn criticism from Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who condemned the Nobel Committee’s decision.

Trump’s latest complaints follow a separate controversy over last year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won the 2025 award, presented Trump with her medal in January after repeatedly praising his efforts.

Trump has cited Machado’s support as evidence that he deserves the honor, but the Norwegian Nobel Committee determines the laureate, and the prize itself is not transferred when a recipient gives away their medal

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