President Donald Trump accepted a Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The exchange, which followed a private White House meeting, drew attention to the symbolism and context surrounding the presentation of the award.
Donald Trump accepts Nobel Peace Prize
President Donald Trump accepted the Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado during a private meeting at the White House on January 15, 2026. “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” Trump posted on his social media platform, calling her a “wonderful woman who has been through so much.” A White House official confirmed Trump accepted the medal, calling it a “gesture of mutual respect.”
Machado told reporters outside the White House, “I told him this… Listen to this — 200 years ago, General Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face on it.” She added, “And 200 years in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal… in this case a medal of a Nobel Peace Prize… a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom” (via ABC News).
The Nobel Committee awarded Machado the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for “promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and leading efforts to transition the country from dictatorship to democracy. She previously stated her intention to dedicate the prize to Trump, calling his actions “a huge step towards a democratic transition,” referring to the U.S.-led capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026.
Earlier this week, she told Fox News host Sean Hannity, “What he has done is historic… The Venezuelan people… certainly want to, to give it to him and share it with him.” However, the Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified that the prize “can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others.”
Trump has long sought the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2025, Steven Cheung criticized the committee, saying it “place[s] politics over peace.”
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
