Venezuela’s leading opposition figure, who was awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her political efforts in the country, had a recent high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump. Although the sit-down with Trump may not have secured his support for her efforts to lead Venezuela, it ended with Trump being gifted the Nobel Prize that he spent months arguing he should have won.
Machado gave Trump her Nobel medal, but he is still not a Nobel laureate
Trump held a White House meeting on Thursday with María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s longtime leading political opposition figure and the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. As many had speculated, Machado offered Trump her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, an award that Trump repeatedly claimed should be awarded to him based on an exaggerated argument about his efforts to end wars around the world.
“I presented the president of the United States with the medal, the peace medal, the peace prize,” Machado told reporters. The gesture to Trump was “a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom,” Machado said.
The White House confirmed that Trump kept Machado’s award and posted a picture on social media of Trump and Machado’s meeting.
Despite Trump now having physical possession of Machado’s Nobel medal, this doesn’t make him a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Earlier Thursday, the Nobel Peace Center posted a message on social media, noting that “some Nobel Peace Prize medals have been passed on after the award was given.” Following a Jan. 9 news release, the post clarified, “As the Norwegian Nobel Committee states: ‘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.'”
Trump previously ruled out Machado’s leadership
While Trump received Machado’s Nobel medal, if not the underlying honor, it is unclear if Machado received political support from Trump in return. The meeting came weeks after U.S. forces struck Venezuela, removing and arresting the country’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who now face federal charges in New York. Despite condemning Maduro as a dictator, Trump has so far allowed Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president, to remain as acting president of Venezuela; Rodriguez, in turn, supported efforts to open Venezuela’s oil industry to foreign firms, a top priority for Trump. On the day of the Venezuelan invasion, Trump explicitly ruled out supporting Machado leading the country, saying “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country,” even though she was a “very nice woman.” Many interpreted Trump’s lack of support for Machado as jealousy for her Nobel win.
Trump’s characterization of Machado’s lack of support in Venezuela is contradicted by her political record. As the Nobel Prize organization noted, Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize “first and foremost for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela.” Machado has long been a leading opposition figure in Venezuela, serving in the National Assembly after winning a 2010 election with “a record number of votes.” Machado was expelled from the legislature by the country’s authoritarian regime in 2014 and banned from running for president in 2024. She then threw her support behind opposition politician Edmundo González Urrutia, who is widely believed to have won the election despite the Maduro government claiming victory. Machado’s strong political record notwithstanding, some have speculated that her apparent attempt to curry favor with Trump may have hurt rather than helped her chances of leading Venezuela.
“Trading a Nobel Peace Prize for a Trump merch bag isn’t the strongest advertisement for one’s fitness to lead a country,” producer Franklin Leonard quipped on social media.
Machado’s track record paints her as a popular political figure in Venezuela and a champion for democracy in the country. However, Trump has so far not supported her as a future leader of the country over which he asserts significant influence. It remains to be seen whether Machado’s Nobel gesture will change Trump’s mind, or if he will continue to deny her his support now that he has the medal he wanted.