Trump Gets Nobel Peace Prize, But How ?

Days after US forces held Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro captive in Caracas after a blistering coup and charged him in a drug-trafficking case, opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at a private White House meeting on Thursday.  

Though the Nobel Committee last week openly stated that the award is not transferable, Machado handed over her award to Trump calling it a recognition for his unique commitment with the freedom of Venezuelans. Immediately after receiving the present, Trump expressed his gratitude in a social media post. Trump may likely keep the award with him as per White House sources.

Trump posted “She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Machado presenting him with the medal was “such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.” 

Machado won the coveted peace prize as a recognition to her fighting spirit to protect the democratic rights of the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. During the 2014 Venezuelan protests, she played a leading role in organizing demonstrations against Maduro’s government. 

For the last one year, Trump has been openly endorsing his candidature for getting Nobel Peace Prize after he himself claimed to have ended several wars by brokering peace between different countries including India and Pakistan. He had expressed displeasure when it was given to Machado last year. 

Machado was Venezuela’s democratic leader-in-waiting until Trump’s decision to oust Nicolas Maduro, and then to back his deputy. Her party was believed to have won a decisive mandate in 2024 elections which were rejected by Maduro.