Trump tells Norway PM not bound to ‘think purely of peace’ after Nobel snub 

United States President Donald Trump’s simmering resentment in the wake of failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize has surfaced again when he told Norway’s prime minister that he no longer feels obliged to “think purely of peace”.

In the message that was confirmed on Monday as being delivered to Norwegian leader Jonas Gahr Store, Trump wrote that “considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace”.

Trump’s claim to have ended eight wars, some of which were brief conflicts, like the one involving India and Pakistan, others which remain hot wars to this day, such as Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been questioned by analysts and observers.

The authenticity of the message was confirmed by a source close to the matter to the AFP news agency and by Store to the Norwegian newspaper VG.

It remains unclear why Trump directed the message to the Norwegian government, as the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the independent Norwegian Nobel Committee, not by Oslo’s political leadership.

In a written response, Store underlined that point. “I have clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known: the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee,” he said.

Trump has long expressed bitterness at missing out on the annual prize.

That fixation reared its head again last week when Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal during a visit to the White House two weeks after US special forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump notably did not allow live cameras into that meeting, as he often does when meeting visiting political leaders or figures. But a photograph was released by the White House of him receiving the medal from Machado.

The right-wing Machado received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for leading Venezuela’s opposition.

In 2023, she won the Venezuelan opposition’s presidential primary, placing her in a prime position to challenge longtime leader Maduro in the 2024 presidential election.

However, Venezuela’s top court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, upheld a ban stopping Machado from running for office.

The court-backed government said she supported US sanctions, was linked to a weapons plot through her party, and had helped cause losses to Venezuelan assets like the US-based oil refiner Citgo and chemicals company Monomeros, which operates in Colombia.

During her visit to Washington, Machado said she offered the medal to Trump “as a recognition for his unique commitment to our freedom”.

Trump later confirmed on social media that Machado had left the medal with him, writing: “She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done.”

In advance of the visit, the Norwegian Nobel Institute reiterated that a peace prize cannot be transferred or shared once awarded. Under the statutes of the Nobel Foundation and the will of Alfred Nobel, the title belongs solely to the recipient, even if the physical medal changes hands.

In December, Gianni Infantino, chief of world football association FIFA, handed Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, further cementing his embrace of the Republican leader and raising eyebrows globally during a lavish ceremony.

FIFA has long proclaimed a policy of political neutrality, but has been called into question.

Infantino’s effusive praise for Trump and the FIFA decision to award a peace prize to the US president triggered a formal complaint over ethics violations and political neutrality days after the football body’s event.

Human rights group FairSquare said it had filed a complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee, claiming the organisation’s behaviour was against the common interests of the global football community.