President Donald Trump is now in possession of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal after its recipient, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, appeared to take his repeated hints to heart.
On Thursday, Jan. 15, Machado visited the White House and privately presented the Peace Prize to Trump. The medal was placed in a gold-colored frame bearing an inscription praising Trump’s leadership.
“To President Donald J. Trump, In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace Through Strength, Advancing Diplomacy, and Defending Liberty and Prosperity.”
The inscription continues:
“Presented as a Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People in Recognition of President Trump’s Principled and Decisive Action to Secure a Free Venezuela. The Courage of America, and its President Donald J. Trump, will Never be Forgotten by the Venezuelan People.”
In exchange for the gift, Trump sent Machado away with a maroon swag bag featuring his signature in gold script.
Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize in October — an award Trump had openly lobbied for in public remarks — and later dedicated the honor to the U.S. president.
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But Trump’s comments about Machado shifted after the U.S. launched strikes in Caracas on Jan. 3 and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores. Trump questioned whether Machado could realistically lead Venezuela, saying it would be “very tough for her” because she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.”
Trump instead said the U.S. would “run” the country, and he did not object when Maduro’s second-in-command was sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president.
A White House source later told The Washington Post that Machado accepting the Nobel Peace Prize was considered the “ultimate sin” in Trump’s eyes, claiming, “If she 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.”
Machado later said she “wants to give” Trump her Nobel Peace Prize — an idea Trump quickly embraced.
“I’ve heard that she wants to do that,” Trump told Fox News‘ Sean Hannity on Jan. 8. “That would be a great honor.”
The comment prompted an unusual response from the Nobel Committee the next day, warning that the prize could not be handed over to anyone else and legally remained Machado’s.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute receive a number of requests for comments regarding the permanence of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s status,” read a Jan. 9 news release from the committee. “The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”
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After her White House visit, Machado was the first to publicly confirm that she used the meeting to hand the medal to Trump.
“I presented the President of the United States the medal, the peace, the Nobel Peace Prize,” she told Fox News, calling it a gesture “in recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump later posted 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!”
