Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary personal attack on Norway, branding the European country a “s***hole country” and declaring that he does not want Norwegian immigrants in the US, in an apparent outburst of anger over his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking at a rally in Michigan ahead of next week’s midterm elections, the US president linked his hostility toward Norway directly to the award, which the UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, received earlier this month.
“I’m not in love with Norway. Frankly, Norway sucks,” Trump told supporters during his tantrum. “Norway has become a s***hole country, actually.”
The president went on to suggest that Norwegians would be unwelcome in the US, contrasting them with people from countries he said he would prefer to admit.
“I didn’t get the Nobel Prize … So I don’t want anybody from Norway,” he said.
The remarks mark a fresh escalation in Trump’s long-running campaign to secure the prestigious international accolade, which he has repeatedly argued he deserves for his diplomatic efforts. The president has claimed to have stopped eight wars and previously described winning the prize as a “great honour”.
His frustration has increasingly focused on Norway, whose capital hosts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, even though an independent committee decides the award rather than the Norwegian government.
After Pillay’s selection was announced, Trump dismissed the former judge as “a woman that nobody ever heard of” and questioned why he had been overlooked.
“What about me? Do they do two of them?” he asked.
Trump had already described the decision not to award him the prize as “disgraceful and embarrassing”, calling it an “indelible stain” on Norway.
Pillay, who was born in South Africa, was recognised for her efforts to promote peace and international law. The Nobel Committee said the award honoured a person who, “with extraordinary courage and integrity, has paved the way for a more comprehensive global legal order”.
Upon receiving the prize, Pillay said she was “reeling with surprise” and dedicated the award to “survivors of international crime”.
The controversy has prompted Norwegian officials to reiterate the distinction between the country’s government and the independent body responsible for selecting the laureate.
Foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that Trump knew the committee operated independently.
“He knows very well that the Nobel committee is independent,” Eide said.
Prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre has also explained to Trump that his government has no control over the committee’s decision.
Even Pillay appeared to acknowledge the president’s fixation on the award, joking after her selection: “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.”
Trump’s latest comments risk further straining relations with a European ally at a time when transatlantic ties are already under pressure. His decision to connect immigration preferences to a personal grievance over an international award also raises questions about how far his rhetoric will extend beyond the Nobel dispute.
For Norway, the episode presents an unusual diplomatic challenge: defending the independence of a prize committee while facing public condemnation from the leader of its most important security ally.
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