Norway’s Leader Said He Told Trump It Doesn’t Decide The Nobel Peace Prize But Trump Keeps Texting Him About It
“He's very preoccupied with the Nobel Peace Prize. And I've explained to him many times that it's an award given by a Norwegian committee, not by the Norwegian government.” Støre told a reporter.
Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre has told a reporter that although he has repeatedly told US President Donald Trump that the Norwegian government does not decide the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump remains “very preoccupied” with the award.
Støre made the comments in Oslo on Monday, Jan. 19, after his government released a text exchange between Trump and Støre in which Trump blamed Norway for not awarding him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to the exchange, Støre had sent a message along with Finland’s president to urge Trump to de-escalate growing tensions over Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine and the US’ threats over tariffs.
“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 replied.
In the same message, Trump also said that the world was “not secure” unless the US had “complete and total control of Greenland.”
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway?” Trump said.
“I'm not going to comment on every sentence in that text message,” Støre told a reporter. “He's very preoccupied with the Nobel Peace Prize. And I've explained to him many times that it's an award given by a Norwegian committee, not by the Norwegian government.”
He also said that it is unacceptable to threaten allies with tariffs for upholding fundamental principles and that he has been working with the UK and the EU on how to respond to the “rather unusual situation.”
When asked if he thought Trump was serious, Støre said “We have to assume that leaders are serious.”
“Trump often tweets what he thinks. It's then our job to follow up if it affects us,” he added.
The prize in October 2025 went to Venezuela’s main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who later presented Trump with her medal on Jan. 15 as a “personal symbol of gratitude” for his role in “freeing Venezuela.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement on Friday, Jan. 16, that although the medal can be given away, the Nobel Peace Prize "itself – the honor and recognition – remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate” by the Committee.
Flavie Chen
Sofia Hou
