Trump can have the medal, but that does not make him a Nobel Prize winner

The Nobel Peace Prize remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation that won it, though the medal can be given away, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said after last year’s winner gave her medal to US President Donald Trump.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her medal on Thursday to Trump, who thanked her for it. The White House released a photo of Trump and Machado, with Trump holding up a gold-coloured frame displaying it, and a White House official said Trump intends to keep it.

Machado’s award also consists of a diploma and 11 million Swedish crowns (US$1.19 million).

In a statement, the award body said: “Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize.

“There are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation on what a laureate may do with the medal, the diploma, or the prize money. This means that a laureate is free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items.”

The medal and the diploma are physical symbols confirming that an individual or organisation has been awarded the prize, said the five-strong award committee.

“The prize itself – the honour and recognition – remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee,” it said.

The committee, which did not refer to Trump and Machado by name in its statement, said it does not comment on a laureate’s statements, decisions or actions after the prize is announced.

It was not the first time a Nobel laureate has given away the medal. In 1943, Nobel literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

In 2022, Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov sold his medal for US$100 million to raise money for the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF to help Ukrainian refugee children.

In 2024, the widow of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan donated his 2001 Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma to the UN office in Geneva.

Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal in a bid to influence his efforts to shape her country’s political future.

In a social media post on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!”

Machado, who described the meeting as “excellent”, said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.

Accompanying text with the medal read: “To President Donald J Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength”, and Machado labelled the gesture as a “Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People.”

Machado’s attempt to sway Trump came after he dismissed the idea of installing her as Venezuela’s leader to replace the deposed Nicolas Maduro.

Trump openly campaigned for the prize before Machado was awarded it last month and complained bitterly when he was snubbed.