01/18/2026
I didn't think I would comment on this because it is so obvious, but I've been reading about it and find it hard to believe.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting democracy and opposing Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime, traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on January 15, 2026.
During that meeting, Machado physically presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump as a symbolic gesture of gratitude and recognition for what she described as his support for Venezuelan freedom.
Trump accepted the medal, praised her publicly on social media, and displayed it in a frame—calling her gesture “wonderful.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Nobel Foundation made it clear that while someone can physically hand over a medal, a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be officially transferred, shared, or re-awarded to someone else. The title of “Nobel Peace Prize laureate” remains solely with Machado.
Machado said the gift was a symbol of appreciation on behalf of the Venezuelan people for Trump’s actions related to Venezuelan politics and the ouster of Maduro.
Critics called the move “absurd” or embarrassing and argued it could demean the prestige of the Nobel Prize.
Opinion pieces and commentators also suggested the gesture was an attempt by Machado to gain Trump’s favor politically, especially after Trump declined to back her as Venezuela’s leader, instead supporting the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez.
The point is that this does not mean Trump is a Noble Prize winner. He can show it off all he wants, but it is a fraud. He has not received the prize, and it is not likely he ever will. His being a fraud with the prized ensures the committee will never give it to him. His prize is not worth a penny more than the price of the metal. It's not solid gold, is it?