Machado Presents Nobel Peace Prize To Trump: Can Laureates Give Away The Title?

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado made headlines after presenting her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office. The encounter, held on Thursday, came just days after the United States launched a military strike in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the country's embattled leader.

Trump described the exchange as "a wonderful gesture of mutual respect." On his Truth Social account, he wrote: "It was my great honour 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!"

Photographs released online show Machado standing beside Trump in the Oval Office, while the President holds a framed Nobel Peace Prize medal inscribed with the caption: "The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Medal awarded to María Corina Machado."

A message accompanying the medal praised 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. 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."

Machado later told reporters that she had given the medal "as recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."

Trump's Longstanding Desire for the Nobel

The Nobel Peace Prize has long been a coveted honour for Trump, who has often argued that his record of ending conflicts should earn him the award. He has claimed credit for halting eight wars, including the brief conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025, during the first year of his second term.

Trump has frequently contrasted his efforts with former President Barack Obama, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, only months into his presidency.

Can a Nobel Prize Be Transferred?

Machado's decision reignited debate over whether Nobel Prizes can be shared, revoked, or transferred. The Norwegian Nobel Committee quickly clarified its position. In a statement, the Nobel Peace Center wrote: "Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time. A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot."

The Committee emphasized that its mandate ends once the prize is awarded. Laureates' later actions, while closely observed, do not affect the permanence of the award.

Historical Precedent: Hemingway's Gift

Machado is not the first laureate to part with her medal. In 1954, American author Ernest Hemingway, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for The Old Man and the Sea, donated his medal and diploma to the people of Cuba. He entrusted them to the Catholic Church at El Cobre, declaring: "This award belongs to the people of Cuba, because my works were created and conceived in Cuba, in my village of Cojímar, of which I am a citizen."

Though the medal was stolen and later recovered in 1986, only the diploma remains on public display today.

Machado's symbolic handover of her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump underscores the complex interplay of politics, gratitude, and symbolism. While the Nobel Committee insists that laureate status is non‑transferable, the act itself carries weight as a personal tribute. For Trump, who has long sought recognition from the Nobel establishment, the gift represents a powerful endorsement from a leader who credits him with helping secure Venezuela's freedom.