United States President, Donald Trump, has renewed his criticism of the Nobel Peace Prize selection process, describing his continued exclusion from the award as a national embarrassment for Norway, which hosts the Nobel committee.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday, Trump questioned the recognition of this year’s laureate, Navi Pillay, a former International Criminal Court judge who oversaw a United Nations report concluding that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
Dismissing Pillay’s profile, Trump referred to her as a “mystery person” and said, “I never heard of the person. Nobody did.”
Trump’s latest remarks reflect his longstanding dissatisfaction with not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, an issue he has repeatedly raised during his presidency.
He criticised those responsible for the decision, arguing that the outcome had damaged Norway’s reputation.
“This is an indelible stain on the country of Norway and those people that made such a disgraceful and embarrassing decision,” Trump said.
The US president also cited several international disputes that he claimed to have helped resolve or prevent. Among them were tensions involving North and South Korea, Japan and North Korea, as well as China and Taiwan. However, he offered no evidence during his remarks to substantiate his claims of preventing the conflicts from escalating into war.
Trump further challenged the credibility of the Nobel Peace Prize, accusing those behind its selection of pursuing ideological interests rather than supporting peace and democracy.
“The Nobel Peace Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of radical ideologues who are anti-democracy and really enemies of civilization. And we will not forget, Norway,” he said.
His comments came hours after the announcement of this year’s award, renewing the dispute over his exclusion from the prestigious international honour and drawing fresh attention to his claims about his role in easing global tensions.
