US President Donald Trump took a dig at this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Navi Pillay, describing her as a “liberal working at the UN whom no one had ever heard of before.”
Navi Pillay had led a UN commission of inquiry which concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.
Speaking at a Republican election rally in New York, Trump said, “Today, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to someone whose name I had never heard. No one knows her. It is a mystery.” However, at the rally held ahead of the November 3rd midterm elections, he added, “Still, congratulations to her.”
Trump reiterated his claim of having ended eight wars, citing the conflict between India and Pakistan as an example.
Trump said, “One could win a Nobel Prize for just one of those eight wars. I ended eight wars. No president has ever done that.”
He then became more vocal in his criticism of the Nobel Peace Prize committee and Norway, the country associated with the award.
Trump stated, “As the US President, the United States should have received the Nobel Peace Prize, but it didn’t happen. This is an indelible stain on Norway.”
He claimed that the award has lost its credibility forever due to a group of radical ideologues whom he described as “anti-democratic and enemies of civilization.”
Trump said, “We will not forget Norway.” He also remarked that the failure to receive the award was “another example” of the exploitative behavior of Norway and other nations toward the United States.
Later, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I know nothing about this woman, and neither does anyone else!” “As far as I know, no one had ever even heard of him—except for his hatred of Israel.”
Arguing his own case for the award, he further wrote, “The Nobel Peace Prize has been forever tarnished by a group of radical ideologues. They are anti-democratic and enemies of civilization.”
Trump has long laid claim to the Nobel Peace Prize; he has also frequently criticized the fact that he has not yet been awarded it.
