The permanence of the Nobel Peace Prize was the subject of official clarification on Thursday after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented her medal to President Donald Trump. The Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that the winner’s name “stands for all time,” even if the medal changes hands. This statement followed Machado’s high-profile visit to the White House.
Machado told reporters she had “presented” the medal to Trump as a recognition of his commitment to freedom. She did not clarify if the President retained the medal, but the gesture was clearly designed to appease a leader who has long felt deserving of the award. The committee’s intervention underscores that while Trump may have the gold, he does not have the title.
Machado framed the gift through the lens of the American and Venezuelan revolutions. She cited the Marquis de Lafayette’s gift to Simon Bolivar as the precedent, describing her action as the “people of Bolivar” giving back to the “heir of Washington.” This narrative attempts to elevate the political meeting to a historic event.
The diplomatic context is fraught with tension. Trump has previously dismissed Machado as unfit and has focused much of his energy on pressuring interim president Delcy Rodriguez regarding oil interests. His threats of force against Rodriguez highlight a willingness to use hard power to achieve economic goals.
Machado, however, ignored these frictions in her public remarks. She called the meeting “great” and insisted that Trump understands the crisis in Venezuela. The gift of the medal is a strategic attempt to bridge the gap between her moral appeal and Trump’s hard-nosed foreign policy.