President Donald Trump called Norway a "sh*thouse country" and said he no longer wanted Norwegian immigrants after missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize, prompting officials in Oslo to remind him that their government has no role in choosing the winner.
Speaking at a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday, Trump also recounted telling First Lady Melania Trump that he expected to receive the award. The Norwegian Nobel Committee instead named South African jurist Navanethem "Navi" Pillay its 2026 laureate on October 9.
"I didn't get the Nobel Prize," Trump said, according to The New York Times. "So I don't want anybody from Norway. I don't want anything to do with Norway."
There was no indication that the remarks announced a change in U.S. immigration policy. They nevertheless marked a reversal toward a country Trump had previously held up as a preferred source of immigrants.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide responded Monday in an interview with public broadcaster NRK, saying the president had already been told how the selection process works.
"He knows very well that the Nobel committee is independent," Eide said. "We have reminded him of that, in case anyone is wondering, and that is still the case."
The committee separately told the Times that it was "entirely independent of the Norwegian government." Norway's parliament appoints its five members for six-year terms, but government officials and sitting lawmakers cannot serve.
Trump's comments suggested he had anticipated a different outcome. According to the Michigan rally transcript, he recalled telling his wife: "First lady, I get the Nobel Prize in two weeks."
That account reflected Trump's recollection of a private conversation. There is no evidence in the reporting that the committee had assured him he would win.
The president tied his expectations to his repeated assertion that he had settled eight wars, including claims about preventing further fighting between India and Pakistan.
FactCheck.org has found that Trump played a significant role in reducing hostilities in some disputes, but that others were not active wars or had not been conclusively resolved.
Trump dismissed Pillay as a "woman nobody had ever heard of." The former United Nations human rights chief has also served at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. The committee recognised her work supporting international law, accountability and human rights.
His attack on Norway recalled the 2018 controversy over reports that he described Haiti and African nations as "shithole countries" while favouring immigration from Norway. Trump denied using that expression at the time, while acknowledging tough language.
Trump has repeatedly sought Nobel recognition. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated him in 2025, when the prize ultimately went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Machado presented her medal to Trump during a White House visit in January. The committee subsequently clarified that possession of the medal did not transfer the award.
"Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else's possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," it said.
