Norway Tourism: The 'Shithouse' Response

Norwegian public restrooms have a reputation for architectural quality. The country’s state tourism agency is now using that reputation as a diplomatic response to a sharp verbal critique from the White House.

U.S. President Donald Trump called Norway a “shithouse country” on Sunday. The remark occurred at a political rally in Port Huron, Michigan. The event took place ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Visit Norway released a guide titled “Norway makes shithouses great again.” The campaign features photographs of public toilets set against the nation’s natural landscapes. The agency posted the content on social media this week. The posts received widespread sharing and positive reactions.

The tourism agency identified specific locations in the guide. The Stegastein viewpoint in Aurland offers free toilets built on a cliff edge. The structure overlooks the Aurlandsfjord. A large window allows users to view the outside while preventing onlookers from seeing in. The design firm DesignCurial ranked this facility as the best public toilet in the world in 2015.

The guide also lists the “Gulldassen,” known as the Golden Toilet, on Senja Island. This triangular restroom was built in 2014. It serves as a popular stop for tourists traveling through northern Norway. The agency noted that these facilities are architectural marvels with international design awards.

Evgenia Egorova is the social media lead for Visit Norway. She told The Associated Press that her team had previously created similar content for World Toilet Day. That annual observance is scheduled for November 19. Egorova said the team was happy to repurpose the existing material for the new campaign.

“When life gives you lemons or quotes like this, you just do the lemonade,” Egorova said. She noted the team added viral content elements to the post. The agency described the response from the public as overwhelmingly positive.

Trump’s comments follow a pattern of rhetoric regarding the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to international jurist Navi Pillay earlier this month. Trump has previously expressed doubt that the committee would award him the prize. His frustration with the Norwegian institution has grown since 2018, when he used similar language to describe other nations during a discussion on immigration.

The timing of the campaign coincides with other notable toilet-related events involving the U.S. president. A golden toilet was installed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. A resistance art group placed the fixture to protest White House renovations. In 2019, a one-of-a-kind gold toilet titled “America” by artist Maurizio Cattelan was stolen from Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom. The artwork was on loan after a request to borrow a Van Gogh painting from the Guggenheim Museum ended with the museum offering the toilet instead. Two thieves were convicted for the theft last year. The item has not been recovered.

The Visit Norway campaign is currently live on the agency’s digital platforms. The guide highlights the contrast between the vulgar description used by the U.S. president and the physical reality of the facilities. The agency aims to draw attention to the country’s infrastructure while maintaining a light tone in the diplomatic exchange.