President Donald Trump is the subject of widespread mockery after showing off the Nobel Peace Prize Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave him despite the Nobel Committee insisting that prizes can't be transferred.
Machado's gesture came just days after she told Fox News she wants to give him her award after he invaded Venezuela and ousted dictator Nicolás Maduro. Machado told host Sean Hannity she "certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people, certainly want to give it to him and share it with him."
That attempt to curry favor followed Trump's remarks to reporters earlier this month that while Machado is a "very nice woman," she "doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country" to lead Venezuela, sparking concerns that his remarks were driven by personal resentment, particularly after Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize instead of him.
In fact, sources told The Washington Post that Trump refused to install her because she didn't turn down the honor he covets, thus committing the "ultimate sin" of offending Trump's pride. One source went so far as to say that "if she [Machado] had turned it down and said, 'I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump's,' she’d be the president of Venezuela today."
But the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute are very clear that a Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s status is in fact permanent, noting on their official website days after Machado's offer that "once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others."
Despite this, Machado traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet Trump anyway, telling reporters she "presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize." Machado said she had done so "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
You can hear what Machado said in the video below.
The White House posted a message and a photograph to its official X account that shows a beaming Trump standing next to Machado while holding the prize, writing:
"President Donald J. Trump meets with María Corina Machado of Venezuela in the Oval Office, during which she presented the President with her Nobel Peace Prize in recognition and honor."
You can see the photo of Trump showing off the prize—with Machado by his side—below.
@WhiteHouse/X
@WhiteHouse/X
The White House confirmed to news outlets that Trump will be keeping the prize.
Trump—always susceptible to flattery—has for now changed his tune on Machado, falling over himself on Truth Social to praise the woman he just weeks ago said no one respects:
"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!"
You can see his post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
It was an embarrassing display.
It has been a whirlwind of events in the months since the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to Machado "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
White House Communications director Steven Cheung accused the Nobel Committee of "placing politics over peace," saying it was "astonishing" that Trump was not recognized after his administration's role in brokering a Gaza ceasefire deal (that Israel has since violated numerous times).
However, Trump was barely eligible for the prize to begin with. Nominations for last year's award closed on January 31, 2025, just days after Trump began his second term in office.
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