The Nobel Foundation has firmly dismissed any suggestion that former U.S. President Donald Trump is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, following a controversial gesture by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to hand him her Nobel Peace Prize medal.
In a rare and pointed clarification, the Nobel Foundation stressed that the Nobel Peace Prize is inseparably linked to the officially named laureate and cannot be transferred, shared, or reassigned under any circumstances. While a laureate may give away the physical medal or diploma, the recognition itself remains permanently recorded in history under the original recipient’s name.
The statement effectively shuts down any narrative that Trump, despite now being in possession of the medal, holds Nobel Peace Prize status.
According to Nobel rules, recognition belongs solely to the individual selected by the Nobel Committee at the time of the award — in this case, María Corina Machado.
Machado had presented the medal to Trump as a symbolic gesture of appreciation for his stance against Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
Images of the exchange quickly circulated online, igniting speculation and political debate. However, Nobel officials were quick to intervene, drawing a clear line between symbolic gestures and official recognition.
“The prize can only belong to the laureate,” the Foundation emphasized, underscoring that Nobel honors are final, non-transferable, and immune to political theatrics.
For Trump, who has long expressed interest in winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the clarification marks another moment of public denial. Despite the optics of holding the medal, the Nobel Committee has made it clear: history will not recognize him as a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The episode highlights the strict traditions governing the Nobel Prize and serves as a reminder that symbolism, no matter how dramatic, cannot rewrite official legacy.