Nobel winner Navi Pillay gives sarcastic nod to Trump in initial remarks
The Hill · C · trust 75/100
Comments: by Sarah Davis - 10/09/26 11:23 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 10/09/26 11:23 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Navi Pillay, the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize , took a playful jab at President Trump after learning she had received the honor Friday.
“If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump,” Pillay said, according to a video clip shared from the moment she heard the news in Nuremberg, Germany. Her comment elicited laughter from a gathered crowd of supporters.
Last year’s prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, presented the award to Trump in Washington, after the president openly coveted the honor .
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is responsible for selecting each year’s peace prize recipient, quickly clarified that Machado’s gift did not represent an official transfer of her award to Trump.
“The medal and the diploma are the physical symbols confirming that an individual or organisation has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” the committee said in a statement at the time. “The prize itself — the honour and recognition — remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”
Pillay, a former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge, was recognized with this year’s award for her “commitment to universal legal principles” and her “firm moral compass,” according to a statement shared by the Nobel Prize’s official social media account.
“In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence,” the statement read. “Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.”
In addition to her time on the ICC, Pillay served as a United Nations high commissioner for human rights and was the first non-white woman in South Africa to establish her own law practice. She recently chaired a U.N. commission that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, eliciting strong disapproval from the Israeli government.
Pillay cited this finding in her Friday comments, noting people have praised her for her “courage” on the issue.
“And you can imagine how surprised I was. Why would you need courage to speak the truth?” Pillay said. “You interpret the law, you look at all the facts, so it’s an impartial decision making.”
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated Pillay in a Friday social media post .
“Today’s prize is a tribute to all those working to uphold & defend international law, the rule of law & human rights, and secure peace, justice & human dignity,” he wrote.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced Friday that the U.S. is imposing full blocking sanctions against the ICC.
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