Media reports say Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado ‘presented’ her Nobel Prize to Trump in White House meeting. In an apparent attempt to win back Donald Trump’s favor, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told reporters she had “presented” her gold Nobel peace prize medal to the US president during a private meeting at the White House on Thursday.
The Guardian reported that Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her struggle against what the Nobel committee described as Nicolás Maduro’s “brutal, authoritarian state,” said she offered the medal “in recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.” It remains unclear whether Trump formally accepted the medal.
Trump later addressed the matter on his Truth Social platform, writing: “María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!” He did not post a photo of the medal, and it is unknown whether he retained possession of it.
While Trump expressed gratitude for the gesture, Nobel institutions swiftly reiterated long-standing rules governing the award. In a press release dated January 9, the Nobel Peace Center stated: “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”
Earlier on Thursday, Nobel organizers reinforced the point in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot.”
The Guardian also recalled that Machado’s dramatic escape from Venezuela to attend the Nobel ceremony in Norway last December drew international attention. Analysts reportedly view her decision to present the medal to Trump as an attempt to revive her political movement, whose prospects dimmed after Maduro was removed from power and later detained in New York.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Trump has largely maintained a distant stance toward Machado, despite her recognition for a long campaign for democracy in Venezuela. In 2023, she won the opposition primary by a landslide but was barred from running against Maduro, whose re-election the following year was widely denounced as illegitimate.
However, after a U.S.-led operation ousted Maduro earlier this month, Trump surprised observers by backing Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, stating that Machado was “not respected” enough to lead the country.
Rodríguez, speaking at her first press conference as interim president on Wednesday, said Venezuela was entering a “new political era” marked by increased tolerance for “ideological and political diversity.”
