Machado Donates Nobel Prize to Trump... Wave of Criticism from Norway

Medal Handed to Trump After Only a Month
Former Oslo Mayor: "An Act That Undermines the Award's Authority"

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is facing a wave of criticism from Norway, the country that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize, after she donated her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, handed over her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump-who had openly expressed his desire for the award-during a private meeting at the White House on the 15th (local time).

Despite warnings from the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which oversees the Nobel Peace Prize, Machado gave the medal to President Trump only about a month after receiving it. Prominent Norwegian figures expressed strong displeasure, calling it a meaningless act that lacked respect for the award.

Raymond Johansen, former mayor of Oslo, where the Nobel Prize ceremony is held, also lamented on Facebook, saying, "This act is incredibly embarrassing and undermines the authority of the world's most prestigious and important award." He added, "The political controversy surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize has grown so great that I would have nothing to say if an anti-Nobel Peace Prize movement were to arise."

However, according to the Nobel Foundation's regulations, there are no restrictions on how recipients may handle their medals, certificates, or prize money. In other words, recipients are free to keep, transfer, sell, or donate items related to the Nobel Prize.

In fact, over the years, several recipients have sold or donated their medals. Machado stated that she wanted to share the Nobel Peace Prize with President Trump as a gesture of gratitude for his arrest and ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on the 3rd.

Amid the controversy, some interpret Machado's decision to hand over the Nobel medal as an attempt to win favor with President Trump, as she aspires to become the next president of Venezuela.

However, after receiving the medal, President Trump simply praised the gesture on his social media platform Truth Social, saying, "Maria gave me her Nobel Peace Prize for what she did. A wonderful gesture of mutual respect." He stopped short of making the political endorsement that Machado had hoped for.