Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has confirmed that she presented President Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal during a White House meeting on Thursday, describing the gesture as a symbol of gratitude from the Venezuelan people. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Machado said, “I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” as a photograph obtained by the New York Post showed Trump posing with the framed medal alongside her in the Oval Office, bearing an inscription praising his “extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength, advancing diplomacy, and defending liberty and prosperity.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump thanked Machado for the “wonderful gesture,” writing, “María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
Machado, who won the award last October for her opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, said she invoked a historical parallel in presenting the medal, noting that a symbol of brotherhood once exchanged between the United States and Venezuela was now being returned “to the heir of George Washington,” adding that the prize was given “in recognition of his unique place with our freedom.” T
he meeting followed a private White House lunch lasting more than two hours, amid Trump’s long-stated interest in the Nobel Peace Prize, while the Nobel Committee reiterated that although “a medal can change owners,” the title of laureate cannot, as the White House declined immediate comment on the presentation.