By Fatma Younis
Norway’s official tourist board has responded to Donald Trump’s description of the country as a “shithouse” by publishing a tongue-in-cheek guide to its most scenic toilets, asking “Are these the world’s best shithouses?”
Trump’s Nobel Prize frustration
The U.S. president lashed out at Norway on Sunday, days before the midterm elections, complaining that the Nobel Committee in Oslo had not awarded him a Peace Prize. “Norway has become a shithouse country, actually,” Trump said, adding that he would not welcome immigrants from Norway because he did not receive the prize. He has previously called the failure to award him the prize an “indelible stain” on Norway.
Visit Norway’s humorous riposte
In response, Visit Norway compiled a list of lavatories along the country’s scenic routes, declaring “Norway makes shithouses great again.” The board highlighted facilities such as the “Golden loo” on the island of Senja, noting they are worth a visit “both when you really have to go – and when you don’t.”
Experts praise the approach
Evgenia Egorova, a senior adviser at Visit Norway, told NRK that the response used “a little do-it-yourself humour and fantastic Norwegian architecture.” Jens Kjeldsen, a rhetoric professor at the University of Bergen, said the humour defused the president’s attacks: “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.”
