The Nobel Peace Center issued an unusually direct public statement after Donald Trump displayed a Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. The brief but highly visible moment quickly drew criticism from human-rights advocates and foreign-policy experts.
The controversy followed a White House appearance in which Trump stood with Machado and later showcased the medal in the Oval Office. While the medal is authentic, Nobel institutions stressed a key point: possessing a medal does not make someone a Nobel laureate.
The Peace Center went further than its typical neutral tone, explaining the prize’s history and legal finality. Analysts interpreted the message as a clear rebuke—prestige can be displayed, but honor cannot be transferred.
Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for leading nonviolent resistance against authoritarian rule in Venezuela. During her Washington visit, she said she gave Trump the medal as a symbolic gesture of gratitude for U.S. diplomatic pressure.
The symbolism became contentious when White House messaging suggested Trump viewed the medal as validation of his own leadership. Critics accused him of appropriating the moral authority of a prize he did not receive.
To close any ambiguity, the Peace Center noted that Nobel medals have often been sold, donated, or loaned—without changing who the laureate is. The object may move, officials said, but the title does not.
Mixed signals followed from the White House. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Trump’s skepticism of Machado’s domestic support, a claim disputed by international observers, highlighting a sharp contrast between recognition abroad and rhetoric at home.
The episode unfolded amid broader concerns over Venezuela policy and democratic norms. In invoking past laureates like Martin Luther King Jr., the Peace Center underscored its point: history cannot be relocated, and prestige is earned—not displayed into existence.