Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump.
The exchange happened Thursday when the two met at the White House, per The Hill.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado said after the meeting.
Machado said she told Trump that 200 years ago the Revolutionary War Gen. Marquis de Lafayette gave Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolivar a medal with President George Washington’s likeness on it. She added Bolivar kept the medal for the rest of his life.
“Two hundred years in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal, in this case the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom,” Machado said.
Trump called it a “wonderful gesture.”
“María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”
A White House official told NewsNation that Trump accepted the medal presentation from Machado.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute the cannot be transferred. It reiterated this with a post on X.
“But one truth remains,” the post read. “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,” the post added.
Trump has sought to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending conflicts around the world.
He received nominations from the leaders of Pakistan, Cambodia, Israel and a variety of GOP lawmakers.
This year’s prize went to Machado for her work on human rights in Venezuela.
Trump told reporters last week that Machado does not have enough support or respect in Venezuela to lead her country.
The U.S. has backed acting Venezuela President Delcy Rodríguez after a military operation in which U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the U.S. to face drug charges.
