The Norwegian Nobel Committee has made it clear that the prestigious Peace Prize awarded to President Donald Trump (although he did not win it) will never be his.
Trump ceded the coveted honor to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado, who presented him with the medal on Thursday “as a personal token of gratitude” on behalf of the Venezuelan people and in recognition of Trump’s “principled and decisive actions to secure freedom in Venezuela.”
Trump, 79, grinned as he held his latest gold item.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presents the Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump. / White House
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Maria Corina Machado. / White House
But according to the committee that selects the recipients, the president’s mere possession of the shiny medal — clearly not the diploma, in which he seems uninterested — is nothing more than a self-aggrandizement.
“Medals and certificates are physical signs confirming that an individual or organization has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” the committee said in a statement on Friday. “The award itself – the honor and recognition – remains inseparable from the individual or organization designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”
Although winners can sell, loan or give away medals, certificates and prizes – and a few have done so – their decisions do not change the historical record.
“Even if the medal or certificate later falls into the hands of others, this does not change the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize,” the committee added.
Finally, the committee clarified that it could not revoke the award.
“This decision is final and shall apply at all times,” it said.
This is not the first time the agency has issued a statement on bonus transfer issues. On January 9, a Nobel Prize spokesperson told The Daily Beast that “Nobel Prizes can neither be revoked nor transferred to others.”
After his failed bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump claimed to have ended eight wars. /Anna Money Tree/Getty Images
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Nobel committee’s statement.
In awarding Machado, the committee cited her “long struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in Venezuela.
Machado, 58, explained to Fox News on Thursday her reasoning for giving the award to Trump: “Because he deserves it.” But there may be more at play.
Sources told The Washington Post that Trump refused to back Machado to succeed President Nicolás Maduro after U.S. troops kidnapped Maduro because she committed the “ultimate sin” of not saying no and advising Trump to accept last October.
The opposition leader did leave the White House with something in exchange for the award. Machado was photographed leaving with a red gift bag emblazoned with the president’s gold signature. The contents of the bag have not yet been revealed.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he deserves the award because he claims to have ended eight wars. He called Norwegian diplomats to plead his case, but to no avail.
Instead, Trump received the “FIFA Peace Prize” hastily established by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is now facing ethics complaints for his flattery of Trump.
Machado joins at least seven Nobel Peace Prize winners who have given up their medals, according to the committee. Among them was the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun, who gave his medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels as a “thank you” for a meeting they had during World War II. The current location and condition of the medal are unknown.
