The White House is pressing the Nobel Foundation to recognize Donald Trump’s ‘extraordinary achievements’ since his return to office. This push comes after the president did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
In October 2025, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the prize, despite Trump repeatedly asserting that he ‘deserved’ the honor.
Machado received the prize for her work in advancing ‘democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.’ She recently visited the US President, commending him for the apprehension of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.
During a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump was photographed holding the Nobel Peace Prize medal. Machado later shared with Fox News: “I presented the President of the United States the medal, the peace, the Nobel Peace Prize.”
NEW: Venezuela opposition leader MACHADO just told Fox she presented the Nobel Peace Prize to TRUMP today
“I presented the President of the United States the medal, the peace, the Nobel peace prize…”
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) January 15, 2026
Machado explained she awarded the esteemed prize to Trump because of his ‘unique commitment with our freedom’.
In response to this event, the Nobel Foundation issued a statement: “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.”
Steven Cheung, the White House Communications Director, criticized the Foundation’s comments, asserting that Trump ‘rightfully deserves’ the Peace Prize for allegedly ending ‘at least eight wars’ during his current term.
The @NobelPrize has now issued multiple statements/comments on President Trump (who rightfully deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace to at least eight wars).
Instead of trying to play politics, they should highlight the President’s unprecedented accomplishments. https://t.co/s09MQnA5pW
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) January 18, 2026
Cheung commented on X: “The @NobelPrize has now issued multiple statements/comments on President Trump (who rightfully deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace to at least eight wars).
“Instead of trying to play politics, they should highlight the President’s unprecedented accomplishments.”
Machado previously shared with Fox News that she ‘dedicated’ her award to Trump after his role in capturing Maduro earlier this January.
She declared: “Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated [it] to Trump because I knew at that point, he deserved it.
“And lot of people, most people said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, 3 January.
“And so, I believe he deserved it. January 3 will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny. It’s a milestone, and it’s not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it’s a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity.”