Norway has found the perfect way to answer an insult from President Donald Trump: with toilets. Really beautiful ones.
At a political rally on Sunday in Port Huron, Michigan, ahead of the midterm elections, Trump told the crowd, “Norway has become a shithouse country, actually.” It was not the first time he has gone after Norway or the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and his attacks ramped up again after this year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to international jurist Navi Pillay earlier this month. Trump has been outspoken about wanting the prize himself.
“Norway makes shithouses great again”
Visit Norway, the country’s state-run tourism agency, didn’t get angry. It got creative. The agency launched a campaign under the slogan “Norway makes shithouses great again” and published a guide to what it called “some of the world’s most beautiful and spectacular toilets” scattered across the Norwegian landscape.
“So, we heard some noise about ‘s…house country,'” the agency wrote on social media. “What can we say, we do have some of the world’s most beautiful and spectacular toilets.”
The campaign went viral this week.
Restrooms with a view
These aren’t ordinary rest stops. Many are architectural showpieces, some have won international awards, and they offer views of fjords, mountains and even the Northern Lights.
The free toilets at the Stegastein viewpoint sit on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Aurlandsfjord, with a large window that lets visitors see out while no one can see in. DesignCurial ranked it No. 1 on its 2015 list of the world’s 10 best public toilets.
The list also features the “Gulldassen,” the Golden Toilet, on Senja Island. Built in 2014, the triangular restroom has become a popular stop for tourists.
“You just do the lemonade”
Evgenia Egorova, Visit Norway’s social media lead, told The Associated Press that her team had made similar content a few years ago for World Toilet Day, which falls on Nov. 19, and was delighted to put it to new use. She said the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“When life gives you lemons or quotes like this, you just do the lemonade, and all the viral content,” she said with a laugh on Friday.
A familiar insult with a twist
The jab has an ironic history. In 2018, Trump referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries,” remarks that drew condemnation around the world. At the time, he said he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway. He has since soured on Norway, mostly over the Nobel Peace Prize.
Now the country he once held up as an example is using his own words to sell tourists on its scenery, one spectacular restroom at a time.