Trump fumes over Nobel snub, claims he's preventing war between Koreas

US President Donald Trump vented his frustration over missing out on this year's Nobel Peace Prize, lashing out at both the Nobel Committee and Norway, the country where the committee is based. He also claimed he is personally preventing war on the Korean Peninsula.

According to Reuters, Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Syracuse, New York, on Friday in support of a Republican gubernatorial candidate. He said the Nobel Committee's decision was "an indelible stain" on Norway and on those who made "a shameful and disgraceful" choice. He dismissed this year's laureate, Navi Pillay, 85, as someone he had "never heard of" and called her a "mysterious figure."

This year's Nobel Peace Prize went to Pillay, a South African jurist. She previously served as a judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Last year, she led a UN inquiry commission that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza — a finding unwelcome to the Trump administration, which has been a staunch supporter of Israel.

Trump repeated his claim that he had ended eight wars, saying that resolving even one of them would have been enough to merit the Nobel Peace Prize. "America, represented by your president, should have received the Nobel Peace Prize," he said. According to Yonhap, he added that he should have received eight Nobel Prizes — one for each war.

Trump also claimed he is preventing wars between South and North Korea, between Japan and North Korea, and between China and Taiwan. Reuters noted, however, that he offered no evidence to support the assertions.

CNN also rated Trump's claim of ending "eight wars" as an exaggeration. The conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia that Trump cited was a diplomatic dispute over a Nile River dam, and there was no war between Serbia and Kosovo during his term in office.

Trump directed his anger over the Nobel snub squarely at Norway. "The Nobel Peace Prize has lost all credibility forever because of a few radical ideologues," he said, warning, "We will not forget Norway." According to Bloomberg, he also described the snub as yet another sign that countries like Norway exploit the United States for their own benefit.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, however, is not chosen by the Norwegian government. The decision is made independently by a five-member Nobel Committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he had explained this to Trump on multiple occasions in January. At the time, Trump sent Støre a message saying that since he had not received the Nobel Peace Prize, he no longer felt obligated to think only about peace.

Trump had already expressed his displeasure earlier that day, sharing on his Truth Social account a post by someone else that attacked Pillay and the Nobel Committee. The post described Pillay as someone who "hates America and Israel." Hours later at the rally, however, Trump claimed he had never heard of her.

On the same day, the US government imposed sanctions on the ICC, the institution where Pillay had served. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would ban transactions with the court, effectively crippling its operations. It marked the first time sanctions had been directed at the court as a whole, rather than at individual judges.

Pillay learned of the award in Nuremberg, Germany. As colleagues applauded, she joked, "If you clap a little more, I might have to share this prize with Trump" — a reference to last January's incident in which Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and last year's laureate, handed Trump her Nobel medal. The award ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 10 in Oslo, Norway.