Norway has delivered a brilliantly dry, cheeky response after president Donald Trump bizarrely lashed out at the Scandinavian nation, branding it a ‘s*** house country’ in a bitter tirade over missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sharing during a weekend rally, the POTUS launched an extraordinary attack on Washington’s long-standing European ally, declaring that Norwegian immigrants are no longer welcome in the United States because the Oslo-based committee repeatedly declined to grant him the prestigious award.
“Norway has become a s*** house country, actually,” the US president claimed during the speech, reviving vulgar terminology he previously directed at several African and Caribbean nations. “Because I didn’t get the Nobel Prize… so I don’t want anybody from Norway.”
Trump has long openly coveted the Nobel Peace Prize, routinely lobbying for the honor and previously describing the committee’s failure to recognize him as an ‘indelible stain’ on the nation.
The sentiment was particularly strong, after he missed out on the award again this year, with the 2026 honor instead going to South African jurist and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillar.
Rather than issuing a stiff diplomatic rebuke, Visit Norway—the country’s official tourist board—responded with masterful Nordic wit by compiling a promotional guide to the nation’s most picturesque public lavatories under the banner: “Are these the world’s best s*** houses?”
Turning Trump’s trademark political slogan on its head, the tourist board declared that “Norway makes s*** houses great again,” highlighting world-renowned, architecturally stunning restrooms along its scenic tourist routes and fjord trails.
“These toilets are worth a visit, both when you really have to go – and when you don’t,” the board quipped.
Taking a direct swipe at Trump’s well-known penchant for ostentatious luxury, the guide highlighted the famous Ersfjordstranda rest stop, adding: “If you are a mere mortal like us and can’t afford a gold-plated toilet seat, the Golden loo on the island Senja is the next best thing.”
Speaking to national broadcaster NRK, Visit Norway senior adviser Evgenia Egorova explained the light-hearted campaign: “Sometimes it doesn’t take much, just a little do-it-yourself humor and fantastic Norwegian architecture.”
The tongue-in-cheek campaign earned widespread praise from communications and political experts for deftly disarming the verbal attack without escalating bilateral tensions.
Jens Kjeldsen, a professor of rhetoric at the University of Bergen, noted that taking the high road with humor completely neutralized the outburst.
“By creating humor, the statements become less serious than they otherwise would have been,” Kjeldsen explained. “It’s like the bully in kindergarten. If you get too serious, the bully will win, but if you manage to take it with a smile, or make fun of the bully, you’re in a much better position.”