The White House: Critics of Donald Trump's FIFA Peace Prize have 'Trump derangement syndrome'

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Martin Macdonald | Author

The White House has responded to critics of FIFA's decision to give United States President Donald Trump the organisation's inaugural 'Peace Prize'.

At the 2026 World Cup group stage draw, Trump was given the award by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Since Trump received the peace prize, he has ordered military action in Venezuela and Nigeria and has also threatened similar action in Greenland, Colombia and even fellow tournament hosts, Mexico.

He has also, in partnership with Israwl, instigated a war in the Middle East with Iran.

There's also the distribution of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents throughout the country, which has catalysed incidents of violence on the streets.

Trump's policies have led to major criticism over FIFA's decision to give him the Peace Prize, and this week, Norway’s football federation demanded that the award itself be scrapped as it is in breach of the organisation's stance on political neutrality.

NFF president Lisa Klaveness told reporters: “We want to see it abolished. We don’t think it’s part of FIFA’s mandate to give such a prize. We have a Nobel Institute that does that job independently already. This peace prize given at the [World Cup] draw in Washington was a breach of FIFA’s own statutes of political neutrality and there was a lack of legal process within FIFA.

“It’s important for FIFA’s federations, confederations and also FIFA itself to try to avoid situations where this arm’s-length distance to state leaders is challenged. And these prizes will typically be very political if you don’t have really good instruments and experiments and experience to make this independent and to have a jury and criteria. That is full-time work. It’s so sensitive.

“From a resource angle, from a mandate angle, and most importantly from a governance angle, it should be avoided in the future.”

The White House has responded in typically brazen fashion.

Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, said in a statement to Reuters: “There is no one else in the world more deserving ‌of ⁠FIFA’s first-ever peace prize than President Trump.

"Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump derangement syndrome.”

A new bill in the Minnesota state legislature proposes officially classifying "Trump derangement syndrome" as a mental illness. The legislation defines the condition as exhibiting "intense hostility" towards Trump through verbal outbursts, as well as engaging in "overt acts of aggression and violence" against his supporters.

Infantino defends Peace Prize award

When asked about his relationship with Trump by Sky News, the FIFA president responded:

"I’m fortunate to have an excellent relationship with President Trump. I found him, from the outset, very engaging, very motivated to help FIFA and help the game.

"We’ve established this friendship, this relationship. I don’t speak to him every day, now and then.

"Our motto, our slogan, at FIFA, is ‘football unites the world’.

"The fact that we unite everyone, goes hand-in-hand with peace. Anything we can do to help peace in the world we will do it.

"When this whole situation, with Gaza last year, happened. Around 60,000 people died in Gaza and then it stopped.

"We have to support everyone who does something for peace.

He was asked if Trump had been a destabilising force in the world and responded:

"If we speak about the peace prize and ask ‘what is the main responsibility of a leader?’

"I think, for me, it means he must protect first his country and its people.

"If you manage to save lives, to protect your people and other people around the world, well, you deserve respect.

"We gave him the peace prize because he was instrumental in resolving conflicts and saving thousands of lives and to me, nothing is more important than stopping killing."

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