Donald Trump has finally received a version of the Nobel Peace Prize — but only in a symbolic sense.
At the White House on Thursday, Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was awarded the prize late last year, handed her medal to Trump, citing his support for Venezuela’s freedom. The gesture followed Trump’s approval of a U.S. operation that led to the arrest of Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro and his transfer to the United States.
Trump has long expressed a desire to win the Nobel Prize and had previously criticized Machado while stopping short of backing her as Venezuela’s new leader. Instead, he had worked with Venezuela’s acting head of state, Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president.
That tone shifted during their White House meeting, where Machado openly praised Trump. According to reports, she said she had presented him with the Nobel Peace Prize medal and added that Venezuela could “count on President Trump.”
Trump later described the moment on social media as “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
However, the Nobel Peace Center moved quickly to clarify the situation. In a statement posted last week and reiterated on X, the organization stressed that Nobel Prizes cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred. While the physical medal may change hands, it said, the title of Nobel Peace Prize laureate does not.