Venezuela's Machado presents Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize
Joey GarrisonWASHINGTON ‒ Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during their Jan. 15 meeting at the White House, an extraordinary gesture to try to earn Trump's backing.
Machado, speaking to reporters after the meeting ended, said she gave Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal, which Trump has long coveted, "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, thanked Machado. "She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much," Trump wrote. "María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect."
The White House later released a photo showing Trump accepting the medal, enclosed in a large display case, during their lunch meeting. "In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength, Advancing Diplomacy, and Defending Liberty and Property," the frame presented to Trump reads.
The meeting was held as Machado is seeking Trump's approval to have a role in the Venezuelan government following the United States' Jan. 3 attack on Venezuela and capture of the country's president, Nicolás Maduro. Trump has instead embraced Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's vice president, as the next leader, praising her cooperation as the United States begins to sell Venezuelan oil.
Machado, who described the meeting as "excellent," said she told Trump how the French general Marquis de Lafayette 200 years ago presented Venezuelan military officer Simón Bolívar a medal with President George Washington's face on it. Bolivar kept the medal for the rest of his life.
"It was given by General Lafayette as a sign of the brotherhood between the people of the United States and the people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom against tyranny," Machado said. "And 200 years (later), the people of Bolivar are giving back to their heir of Washington a medal, in this case, a medal of the Nobel Peace Prize."
Machado, who fled Venezuela in December, said the meeting went "very well." She also met with a bipartisan group of senators at the Capitol during her trip to Washington.
Trump openly lobbied to be awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, but the honor was instead given to Machado. After she was named the winner, Machado dedicated the prize to Trump.
Hours after the attack on Venezuela, Trump expressed skepticism about Machado becoming the country’s next president. "I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump told reporters. “She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country."
Asked in a Jan. 9 Fox News interview about the possibility of Machado giving Trump her award, the president said, "I've heard that she wants to do that. That would be a great honor."
A transfer of the Nobel Peace Prize medal does not change the official designation.
Ahead of the meeting, the Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified in a statement that the "Nobel Prize can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others. Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time."
Contributing: Reuters
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