Trump says Nobel peace winner Machado ‘personally called’— jokes, 'I didn’t say give it to ME'
The White House criticized the Nobel Committee for awarding the peace prize to Venezuelan leader Machado instead of Trump, who claimed credit for several peace deals.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Nobel Prize winner Maria Corina Machado "personally called him and said she accepted the prize in his honor', after the White House said earlier in the day that the Nobel Committee had chosen "politics over peace."
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The White House had criticised the Nobel Committee's decision to grant the peace prize to the Venezuelan opposition leader instead of Trump, who aggressively lobbied for the award and touted his role in brokering international ceasefire deals, Reuters reported.
"President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will," White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a post on X.
“The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”
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Asked about the Nobel on Friday evening, Trump did not directly criticize the Committee's decision, but he credited himself for resolving several wars and said Machado might have given him the award if he asked.
“The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said, 'I'm accepting this in honour of you, because you really deserved it,'” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“It's a very nice thing to do. I didn't say, 'Then give it to me,' though I think she might have. She was very nice.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Machado, citing her as a “courageous defender of freedom who rises and resists” against authoritarian regimes.
This comes despite Trump's vocal campaign for the honour.
Trump, who had previously touted his role in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza, claimed to have ended eight wars since taking office, positioning himself as a worthy recipient of the award. Despite this, Trump had also expressed skepticism about being awarded the prize, hinting that he might be overlooked.
"Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not. They'll give it to some guy that didn't do a damn thing," Trump told top U.S. military leaders last month.
He said it would be a “big insult” to the United States if he didn't get it.
Nominations for the Nobel must have been made before January 31 to be valid for this year's prize. Trump returned to the White House for his second term in office on January 20.
Trump acknowledged on Friday the committee's decision in practice focused on 2024 when he had been campaigning for president, but he suggested his contributions to peace were so great they should have given him the prize anyway.
“I was running for office in '24. But there are those that say we did so much that they should have done it.”
(With inputs from Reuters)