Trump Criticizes Nobel Committee for Peace Prize Omission

Former President Donald Trump expressed his disappointment on Saturday regarding the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision not to include him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. He pointed to an extensive list of achievements that he believes warrant recognition.

In a post on Truth Social, he stated, “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 Nobel Peace Prize. WOW!”

Trump has openly sought the Nobel Prize for quite some time, first receiving a nomination in 2018 by Norwegian lawmakers due to his diplomatic efforts with North Korea over nuclear disarmament.

Back in 2019, he told reporters, “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.”

Trump’s Past Nominations

Although the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not disclose nominee details, it is reported that Trump has been nominated at least five times. Prominent nominators include former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2025.

This year, despite another nomination from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others, Trump was again overlooked, with the Peace Prize awarded instead to South African jurist Navi Pillay.

Pillay, who is 85, made history as the first non-White woman appointed to South Africa’s high court. She also served as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.

Controversial Nomination

Her selection, however, stirred some controversy. The Nobel Committee recognized her role as chair of the U.N.’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Palestinian Territory and Israel, but critics pointed to what they perceived as a bias against Israel in her commission’s work.

Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices, called Pillay a “world leader” but also claimed she is at the forefront of promoting harmful forms of antisemitism in the current era.

Despite these claims, the U.N. commended Pillay for her unwavering commitment to international law and human rights. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised her as a “steadfast, independent voice of justice amidst some of the most historic international legal cases of our time.”