President Donald Trump said it would be a “great honor” to accept the Nobel Peace Prize recognition that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has publicly urged should go to him, after she won the 2025 award and dedicated it to his role in Venezuela.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Trump said Machado was expected to visit Washington “next week sometime,” and that he was looking forward to meeting her.
When asked directly whether he would accept the Nobel Peace Prize Machado has said she wants to share with him, Trump replied: “I’ve heard that she wants to do that. That would be a great honor.”
The president also used the moment to re-air his long-running frustration with the Nobel process, saying without evidence that he had “stopped eight wars” and arguing that the committee’s decision-making had been “a major embarrassment to Norway,” where the prize is administered.
Why It Matters
Trump’s comments knit together two key storylines: his desire for international validation through the Nobel Peace Prize and his administration’s escalating posture toward Venezuela after the dramatic removal of President Nicolás Maduro.
They also underscore how Machado’s 2025 Nobel win became entangled in Trump’s own grievances. Trump had strong feelings about Machado receiving the prize instead of him, even as she credited him in her remarks while accepting it.
What To Know
Trump told Hannity he expected to meet Machado in Washington next week, saying he looked forward to “saying hello to her.” He added that it would be “a great honor” if she wanted to publicly recognize him in connection with her Nobel.
The president then broadened his critique, saying: “I’ve stopped eight wars. … When you put out eight wars, in theory you should get one for each war.” He also suggested the Nobel Committee’s decisions have reflected poorly on Norway.
Machado has not suggested that she can transfer a Nobel Prize—something the Nobel is not designed to allow—but she has publicly said she would like to share the honor with Trump and has described dedicating the prize to him because she believes he deserves it. Newsweek reported earlier this week on Machado’s Hannity appearance, in which she reiterated that message and addressed reports of friction with Trump over the prize.
What People Are Saying
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said of the selection process: “This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”
Liberal political commentator Harry Sisson wrote on X: “This is so beyond humiliating for the United States. Trump won’t support Machado in Venezuela unless she gives him the Nobel Peace prize she won. HE IS A CHILD.”
What Happens Next
Trump plans to meet Machado in Washington next week. Any Nobel Peace Prize recognition remains symbolic and rhetorical at this stage. The prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee under established rules, and there is no formal mechanism for a winner to hand the prize to another person.
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