I n the theater of global diplomacy, few acts have been as revealing—or as absurd—as Donald Trump’s ongoing feud with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre over the Nobel Peace Prize. What began as a misunderstanding has morphed into a full-blown diplomatic farce, offering a rare, unfiltered glimpse into how Trump governs: with grievance, spectacle, and a relentless need for personal validation. What the Nobel spat with Norway ultimately exposes is more than a simple misunderstanding of how international institutions work. It offers a glimpse into Trump’s core approach to power. He does not treat the presidency as a trust, bound by democratic norms and independent systems. He treats it as a stage for personal validation, where every exchange—whether with a foreign leader, a federal agency, or a central bank—is something to be bent, claimed, or “won.” That perspective also sheds light on why Trump remains so preoccupied with his feud with Joe Biden. To him, the pres...
