US President Donald Trump on Friday sharply criticized the decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay, claiming he deserved the honor for his efforts to resolve international conflicts and accusing the Nobel Committee of discrediting the award.
Speaking at a Republican campaign rally in Syracuse, New York, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Trump dismissed Pillay as an obscure figure and questioned the decision to recognize her work.
“Today they gave out the Nobel Peace Prize to a person I never heard of. The person nobody did. It’s a mystery person,” Trump said. “But congratulations anyway.”
Pillay, a former United Nations high commissioner for human rights, chaired a UN commission of inquiry that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding rejected by Israel.
Trump described the winner as “a liberal person who works at the United Nations, who nobody has ever heard of.”
The president repeated his claim that he had resolved eight international conflicts, citing tensions between India and Pakistan among his diplomatic achievements.
“Any one of these eight wars, you get the Nobel Prize. I did eight. No president’s ever done any,” Trump said.
He then directed his criticism toward the Nobel Committee and Norway, where the Peace Prize is awarded.
“The United States of America, represented by me as your president, should have received the Nobel Peace Prize, but didn’t. And this is an indelible stain on the country of Norway,” he said.
© AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Trump accused the committee of undermining the award’s credibility through what he characterized as politically motivated decisions.
“We will not forget Norway,” he warned, describing the decision as another example of countries taking advantage of the United States.
In a subsequent post on Truth Social, Trump again questioned Pillay’s recognition and accused her of hostility toward Israel.
“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,” he wrote.
Trump renewed his argument that he should have received the prize, accusing the Nobel Committee of ideological bias.
“The Nobel ‘Peace’ Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of Radical Ideologues who are Anti-Democracy, and Enemies of Civilization!” he wrote.
Trump has repeatedly argued that his diplomatic record merits the Nobel Peace Prize and has publicly criticized previous decisions not to recognize him.
Pillay has held several prominent positions in international law and human rights.
She served as a judge and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and later as a judge at the International Criminal Court.
From 2008 to 2014, she served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
Between 2021 and 2025, Pillay chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
The commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, an assessment rejected by Israeli authorities.
In announcing the award, the Nobel Committee cited Pillay’s contributions to international criminal justice, particularly her role in advancing accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The committee said her work had helped expand the reach and effectiveness of international law.
