Machado says he presented President Trump with Nobel Peace Prize medal
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado said she presented President Donald Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize medal during their meeting.
- Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado awarded President Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize.
- The gesture appears to be an attempt by President Trump to gain support for his party in Venezuela’s leadership transition.
- The Nobel Institute said the Nobel Prize cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to another person.
President Donald Trump met with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado on January 15, and she handed him the Nobel Peace Prize, which she had won several months earlier.
Machado won the Peace Prize for his work fighting for democracy “in the face of Venezuela’s growing authoritarianism,” according to the Nobel Prize support website. The Trump administration at the time said the commission was “prioritizing politics over peace” by not awarding the award to President Trump, who has repeatedly lamented that he may never be able to receive the award.
But now he has the medal, housed in a large gold-framed case with a certificate that reads, “Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the people of Venezuela in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive actions to secure a free Venezuela.”
Why did she hand over the prize? Here’s what we know.
Why did Machado give Trump the Peace Prize?
The gesture appears to be an attempt to gain support from President Trump as Venezuela faces a leadership change following the U.S. detention of President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump and Machado’s lunch meeting came weeks after Maduro was brought to the United States on drug trafficking and corruption charges. Maduro took office in 2013 and has presided over the collapse of Venezuela’s economy.
Machado, who heads the opposition party, said he would run against Maduro in the 2024 general election, but his candidacy was blocked and he supported his party’s alternative candidate, Emundo González Urrutia. Both Mr. Maduro and Mr. Gonzalez have declared victory in 2024, but many foreign leaders, including Mr. Trump, have questioned or denied the legitimacy of Mr. Maduro’s victory. Election observers around the world also found overwhelming evidence that Mr. Machado’s party won but Mr. Maduro refused to relinquish power.
Many expected either Machado or González to take over after Maduro’s ouster, but instead Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, became interim president. Machado has been trying for months to win Trump’s support, including dedicating the Peace Prize to him when he won it in October.
“We are ready and willing to serve our people according to our mission,” he said in a Jan. 7 interview on CBS.
Meanwhile, President Trump praised Rodriguez’s cooperation as the United States begins selling Venezuelan crude oil.
Will Trump keep the Peace Prize?
Yes, the White House has confirmed that President Trump will keep the award, USA TODAY reported on January 16th. President Trump has long wanted the Nobel Peace Prize, mocking and questioning why former President Barack Obama won it in his first year in office. President Trump has said he is confident he won’t win no matter what, but many people are making noise about his nomination.
On January 15, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Maria awarded me the Nobel Peace Prize for all my accomplishments. A great act of mutual respect. Thank you, Maria!”
However, Norway’s Nobel Institute issued a statement saying it could not award the prize before Machado handed over the medal.
“The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to anyone else,” the statement said. “This decision is final and forever in effect.
Machado leaves with gift bag signed by President Trump
Trump wasn’t the only one to receive gifts at the luncheon.
An image of Machado leaving the White House shows her carrying a red gift bag with a golden Trump signature on the outside. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether Trump gave her anything that may have been in the bag.
Although President Trump is constitutionally limited to two terms, he has been photographed showing off his hat collection, including a “Trump 2028” hat, at White House meetings with other foreign leaders.
Contributed by: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Francesca Chambers, Joey Garrison, Michael Collins, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and TikTok.
