US Donald Trump voiced frustration during an October 2026 campaign rally in South Carolina over not receiving a Nobel Peace Prize, adding that he believes his writings should earn him a Pulitzer Prize instead.
The campaign rally at T. Ed. Garrison Arena in Pendleton, South Carolina, brought familiar grievances back to the forefront as the president addressed a crowd of supporters on Wednesday, October 22, 2026. Beyond reiterating his disappointment over being passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize—an honor he argues he earned by stopping multiple wars—he introduced a fresh target for official recognition.
The remarks immediately drew attention across international reporting outlets as the president took aim at previous recipients of the journalism award. The comments were delivered in front of enthusiastic supporters, where the president expanded on his dissatisfaction with international and literary accolades by bringing up his own literary efforts.
Trump Attacks Past Winners
During his address in Pendleton, the president explicitly criticized journalists who previously secured the prestigious prize for their coverage of investigations involving Russia. He contended that the reporting behind those awards was fundamentally flawed and that the recipients should not have received the recognition.
The grievance builds upon years of public complaints from the president regarding media coverage of the 2016 campaign. The Pulitzer Board’s decisions on national reporting awards for major newspapers have previously led to legal battles, including a 2022 defamation lawsuit filed in Florida that challenged coverage published by major outlets concerning ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia.
Two years ago, a state judge in Florida, Senior Judge Robert Pegg, rejected efforts by the Pulitzer Board to dismiss the libel case filed by the president. In a 14-page ruling, Judge Pegg rejected the board’s claim that giving the national reporting prize to The New York Times and The Washington Post in 2018 was merely an expression of opinion rather than a statement of fact. The lawsuit had directly challenged the board for honoring what the president characterized as false news reports concerning the Russia investigation.
Trump Claims Prize for Books
While the president asserted that his own publications and written statements deserved consideration, he did not specify which particular books, essays, or posts formed the basis of his claim.
Many of these titles relied on co-authors or ghostwriters. His prominent publication, the 1987 The Art of the Deal, was co-authored with writer Tony Schwartz.
At a South Carolina rally, Donald Trump renewed his complaint about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming he also deserved a Pulitzer Prize for his writing. He then criticised journalists who won Pulitzers for their reporting on the Russia investigation, arguing that… pic.twitter.com/I7f2KudZdE
Pulitzer Honorees Examine Federal Policy Changes
The latest Pulitzer announcements have drawn attention to multiple newsrooms for investigative work examining federal policy changes and government actions. While the committee’s formal evaluation standards remain open to eligible U.S. citizens who follow submission rules, public reactions to the president’s latest claims continue to circulate across political and media circles.