US president criticised for accepting medal awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado
Political leaders in Norway have condemned the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s “absurd” decision to present her Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump, accusing the US president of being a “classic showoff” who takes credit for other people’s work.
The Nobel laureate gave her medal to Trump at the White House on Thursday “in recognition [of] his unique commitment [to’] our freedom”. Several hours later, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Machado “presented me with her Nobel peace prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
The Nobel Peace Center said on social media that “a medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel peace prize laureate cannot”. The organisers of the prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute, had already said that the prize “cannot be revoked, shared or transferred” when Machado first revealed her plan.
When Machado was awarded the prize in Oslo last month after making a dramatic, secret journey from Venezuela, the Nobel committee celebrated her long struggle for democracy against Nicolás Maduro’s “brutal, authoritarian state”. Since then, Trump has invaded Venezuela and removed Maduro, handing power over to Venezuela’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez.
