'The Prize & the Laureate Are Inseparable': Nobel Foundation Reacts After 2025 Winner Machado Gives Her Award to Trump

The Nobel Foundation has sharply reacted to 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado giving her prestigious medal to United States President Donald Trump, stating that the prize and the laureate are inseparable and that the honor cannot be passed on or distributed to anyone else, even symbolically.

In a statement, the Nobel Foundation wrote, "One of the core missions of the Nobel Foundation is to safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration. The Foundation upholds Alfred Nobel’s will and its stipulations. It states that the prizes shall be awarded to those who "have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind," and it specifies who has the right to award each respective prize. A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed."

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday during a White House meeting, in a bid to influence his efforts to shape her country's political future.

A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.

In a social media post on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: "Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!"

Machado, who described the meeting as "excellent," said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.

In the statement, the Nobel Foundation further wrote, "A Nobel Peace Prize laureate receives two central symbols of the prize: a gold medal and a diploma. In addition, the prize money is awarded separately. Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize. Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."

The foundation also clarified that the award is given for the laureate's contributions up to the time of the committee’s decision, and what the laureate does afterward is their own decision and responsibility.

"The prize is awarded on the basis of the laureate' contributions by the time that the committee’s decision is taken...The Committee does not comment on laureates’ subsequent statements, decisions, or actions. Any ongoing assessments or choices made by laureates must be understood as their own responsibility," the Foundation wrote in the statement.

"There are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation on what a laureate may do with the medal, the diploma, or the prize money. This means that a laureate is free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items," the statement added citing examples of past awardees who had given away or sold their awards.

The White House had posted a photo of Trump and Machado with the president holding up a large, gold-colored frame displaying the medal.

Accompanying text read, "To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength," and labeled the gesture as a "Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People."

Machado's attempt to sway Trump came after he dismissed the idea of installing her as Venezuela's leader to replace the deposed Nicolas Maduro.

Trump openly campaigned for the prize before Machado was awarded it last month and complained bitterly when he was snubbed.

Though Machado gave Trump the gold medal that honorees receive with the prize, the honor remains hers; the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.

Asked on Wednesday if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters: "No, I didn't say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize."

The Republican president has long expressed interest in winning the prize and has at times linked it to diplomatic achievements.
The lunch meeting, which appeared to last slightly over an hour, marked the first time the two have met in person.

Machado then met with more than a dozen senators, both Republican and Democratic, on Capitol Hill, where she has generally found more enthusiastic allies.

(With inputs from agencies)