The Nobel committee issued a firm reminder that its prizes are final and "cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others," after Maria Corina Machado gifted hers to Donald Trump. The president posed for cameras in the Oval Office, proudly holding the prize as he stood beside Machado, the leader of Venezuela's opposition party.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, Machado said she had given Trump her medal, which she won last year in recognition of her long-standing fight to bring democracy to Venezuela. However, the Norwegian Nobel Committee pushed back with a detailed post on X on Thursday, clarifying that while some prizes have changed hands after a winner's death, they cannot be given away as gifts.
It Isn't Trump's Nobel Now
"A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot," the Norwegian Nobel Committee wrote. The committee repeated the official ruling they published last week: "But one truth remains. As the Norwegian Nobel Committee states: Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time."
Machado brushed that off, telling reporters a story from history: a medal originally commissioned for President George Washington was later presented to the family of the French military officer Marquis de Lafayette, who played a key role in helping the Americans win the Revolutionary War.
"I presented the president of the United States, the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize," she said.
Trump thanked Machado for her gesture on Truth Social: "It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!"
Machado said she chose to give the medal to Trump, describing him as the "heir of Washington" and praising what she called his "unique commitment to our freedom."
Trump's Wish Fulfilled
Trump, for his part, had openly campaigned last year to receive the Nobel Peace Prize himself. The meeting was closed to the press, meaning there were no official photos released of Trump holding the prize.
Before their Oval Office sit-down—their first since the U.S. military captured and detained Venezuela's strongman Nicolás Maduro—Machado had already made clear she was considering giving Trump the Nobel.
While Washington maintains that Maduro did not legitimately win the 2024 election, arguing that victory belonged to a candidate from Machado's opposition movement after she was barred from running, Trump has stopped short of pushing for full regime change despite ordering Maduro's arrest.
Instead, the U.S. has shifted toward working with Maduro's second-in-command, Delcy Rodríguez, who is now serving as Venezuela's acting president.
Last week, the president welcomed top oil executives to the White House and urged them to invest in Venezuela. Some of the industry leaders were hesitant, pointing to the country's long record of political turmoil and its past seizures of foreign-owned oil assets.
Still, those concerns didn't slow Trump down, and he has continued engaging with Venezuela's current leadership despite the risks.
