Trump has been repeatedly reminded that the Norwegian government has no role in awarding the Nobel Prize, including Storer, but he has expressed his skepticism on the matter in response.
The US president reiterated his recent demands for “complete and total control” of Greenland, which is not part of Norway, although Oslo once disputed control of it with Denmark.
What did Trump write?
“Dear Jonas: Considering your country (sic) has decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing 8 wars, I have long felt an obligation to think about peace (sic), although it will always be prominent, but now I can think about what is good and right for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s claim of stopping eight wars is ambitious. Perhaps the most notable example is the cessation of hostilities in Gaza, although it is stuck in the first phase of a peace plan and hundreds of people have been killed since the October ceasefire.
Most of the other conflicts or disputes the White House cites were either short-lived skirmishes, or were not resolved, or did not involve fighting, or a combination of the three. Whether Trump believes more than eight “wars” he stopped is unclear.
‘Our boats were also landing there’
Trump then moved on to discuss Greenland without any introduction.
“Denmark can’t protect that land from Russia or China, and yet why do they have ‘ownership rights’?” he asked. “There is no written documentation, it is only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we also had boats landing there.”
The first Norse settlers arrived in Greenland in the 10th century, shortly before they established a base camp on what is now the Americas, which did not become an independent nation until 1776. Various legal documents starting in 1814 portray Greenland as part of Denmark. A 1933 International Court of Justice decision awarded the entire island possessions to Denmark rather than Norway, and in 1953 Greenland was incorporated as a territory or “amt” within Denmark rather than as a Danish-held colony.
The US tried twice to buy Greenland from Denmark, once shortly after the end of World War II and again during Trump’s first term. However, Denmark, one of NATO’s 12 founding members, refused, but the US was granted extensive military access. However, in recent decades it has been steadily withdrawing troops from the region amid increased military focus on regions including Asia and the Middle East.
Trump asserted, “I have worked more for NATO since its founding than any other person and now, NATO must do something for the United States.” “The world is not safe until we have complete and total control of Greenland. Thank you!”
The letter follows a joint statement from the store and Finland’s Stubb
Trump’s letter to the Norwegian Prime Minister was sent shortly after Storrs and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb issued a joint statement asking Trump to tone down his recent rhetoric regarding Greenland and requesting a call with them.
Storr said Monday that he, like many others in politics and the press, has told Trump more than once that his government was not involved in choosing Nobel Peace Prize winners.
“I have repeatedly explained to Trump the well-known fact that it is an independent Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government, that awards the prize,” Storey said.
That committee awarded the 2025 Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Trump instead had to settle for a newly-created “FIFA Peace Prize” awarded by world football’s governing body in the draw for the upcoming World Cup in North America.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar
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