Fact Check: Norway’s PM Did Not Rip Up a ‘Letter’ From Trump — It Was a Text, and the Red-Pen Image Is Satire

A viral image claiming Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, tore apart and annotated a physical Nobel Peace Prize letter from former U.S. President Donald J. Trump is false. While the wording attributed to Trump matches a verified message, the exchange was a text message — not a paper letter — and there is no evidence that Støre ever corrected or publicly released a red‑pen annotated document. The circulating image appears to be a satirical rendering of the text message.

What Happened

On Sept. 6, 2026, an X (formerly Twitter) account posted an image purporting to show the Norwegian prime minister ripping apart a letter from President Trump and marking it up in red pen. The post presented the image as if Støre had corrected or ridiculed a physical letter.

Image source: post by @HelenaGoransson on X.

Verified Source Material

Lead Stories and the Norwegian government confirmed the factual basis for the language used in the meme: the words come from a text message President Trump sent to Prime Minister Støre on Jan. 18, 2026. On Jan. 19, 2026, Støre’s office published a statement confirming the exchange was via text message and that Trump chose to share his reply with other NATO leaders.

Text from Prime Minister Støre to President Trump (18 January, 3:48 p.m.):
Dear Mr President, dear Donald - on the contact across the Atlantic - on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine - and your tariff announcement yesterday. You know our position on these issues. But we believe we all should work to take this down and de-escalate - so much is happening around us where we need to stand together. We are proposing a call with you later today - with both of us or separately - give us a hint of what you prefer! Best - Alex and Jonas

Text from President Trump to Prime Minister Støre (18 January, 4:15 p.m.):
Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT

What We Checked

• Official Norwegian government statement (Jan. 19, 2026) confirming the exchange was a text message.
• Lead Stories’ fact-check verifying the wording of Trump’s text message.
• Social posts and the prime minister’s X account for any evidence of a photographed or annotated physical letter — none were found.
• News databases (Google News, Yahoo News) for independent reporting of a red‑pen annotated letter — none found.

Conclusion

The image is misleading. The words attributed to President Trump are accurate to a verified text message, but there is no evidence that Jonas Gahr Støre ever received, annotated, or publicly released a physical letter corrected with red pen. The circulating image is best understood as satire or a doctored depiction based on the Jan. 18 text exchange.

Bottom line: The claim that Norway’s prime minister ripped up and corrected a physical Nobel Peace Prize letter from Trump is false — the original communication was a text message, and the red‑pen image is a satirical or manipulated representation.