President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado had personally called him after receiving the award, telling him that he “deserved” the honor.
Earlier in the day, the White House had sharply criticized the Nobel Committee’s decision to honor the Venezuelan opposition leader, accusing it of choosing “politics over peace.” Trump, who has long expressed frustration over not receiving the prestigious award himself, has often boasted of his role in brokering international ceasefire agreements and peace efforts.
When asked about the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday evening, Trump told reporters that Machado had called him shortly after the announcement. “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it,’” Trump said. He went on to describe the call as “a very nice thing to do.”
Trump also joked that Machado might have given him the award if he had pressed further. “I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me,’ though I think she might have. She was very nice,” he said.
#WATCH | US President Donald J Trump says, "The person who got the Nobel Prize called me today and said, 'I'm accepting this in honour of you because you really deserved it'… I didn't say, 'Give it to me', though. I think she might have… I've been helping her along the… pic.twitter.com/XY1HH1OG5x
— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2025
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, when announcing Machado’s win, praised her as one of the “courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist” against authoritarian regimes.
Following the announcement, Machado expressed her gratitude and publicly dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump. “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
In another post, Machado emphasized her reliance on Trump and democratic allies around the world, stating, “We are on the threshold of victory and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.”
The White House quickly issued a statement following the Nobel Committee’s announcement, reaffirming Trump’s continued commitment to global peace efforts. “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.
