Trump says Nobel peace winner Machado ‘personally called’ jokes, 'I didn’t say give it to ME'

By Admin

11 Oct, 2025

In a dramatic twist to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado “personally called him” to say she accepted the prestigious award in his honor. The comment came hours after the White House criticized the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision, accusing it of choosing “politics over peace.”

The White House released a strongly worded statement earlier on Friday, expressing disappointment that the Committee awarded the peace prize to Machado instead of Trump, who had lobbied extensively for the honor. “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,” said White House spokesman Steven Cheung in a post on X. “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

Speaking to reporters later that evening from the Oval Office, Trump struck a more humorous tone. “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,’” he said. “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 2025 Peace Prize to Machado, praising her as a “courageous defender of freedom who rises and resists” authoritarian rule in Venezuela. The decision marks a symbolic recognition of her long fight for democracy and human rights in the country.

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly highlighted his role in negotiating ceasefires and peace accords during his presidency. He has claimed credit for ending multiple wars and even spearheading a hostage deal to end the Gaza conflict. Despite his assertions, Trump had previously voiced doubts about ever receiving the Nobel, once saying, “Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not. They’ll give it to some guy that didn’t do a damn thing.”

While acknowledging the Committee’s focus on 2024, Trump maintained that his global peace initiatives merited recognition regardless of timing. “I was running for office in ’24. But there are those that say we did so much that they should have done it,” he remarked.

As reactions poured in, the debate over the Nobel Committee’s choice underscored how deeply political the world’s most famous peace award has become   with Trump once again finding a way to make headlines at the center of it.