'Wonderful Gesture Of Mutual Respect': Trump Praises Machado For Nobel Peace Prize Gesture

Last Updated:January 16, 2026, 07:11 IST

Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize during their meeting in the White House in an apparent bid to gain influence over the future direction of Venezuela.

Venezuelan leader Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel Prize to US President Donald Trump. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) thanked Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for presenting him with her Nobel Peace Prize, calling it a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect".

Machado met Trump at the White House in a high-stakes encounter that could affect how the United States seeks to shape Venezuela’s political future after capturing its previous leader Nicolas Maduro. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Machado said she handed the medal to Trump but did not say whether he accepted it.

“It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!" Trump later said on Truth Social.

Machado arrived at the White House earlier in the day for talks with Trump, marking a rare high-level engagement between the two. Wearing a white suit, she was seen arriving at the White House complex in an SUV before being escorted inside. Her gesture of presenting the Nobel Prize to Trump is seen as an attempt to gain influence over the future direction of her country.

Trump has openly coveted the prize, saying he deserves the Nobel for resolving several wars in his second term. However, the Nobel Committee has already said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked. Even if Trump accepts the award, it will officially belong to Machado.

Machado said she would present her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump after the latter expressed scepticism about her political standing within Venezuela, following an audacious raid by the American military that culminated in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A Washington Post report said Trump was reluctant to back Machado after she accepted the award last year.

The Venezuelan leader was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 for her role in leading Venezuela’s democratic opposition and mobilising resistance against the government of Nicolás Maduro. However, US officials cited by the newspaper said Trump believed the prize should have been his.

Machado has publicly praised Donald Trump for his role in recent US actions against the Venezuelan government. She said she had not spoken to Donald Trump since October, when her Nobel award was announced, but expressed deep gratitude for what she described as his decisive intervention in Venezuela.

During his visit to the US, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to meeting Machado, but that he stood by his “realistic" assessment that she did not currently have the support needed to lead the country in the short term. Machado was banned from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with Maduro allies.

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