President Donald Trump has said it would be “an honor” take Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize if she offered it to him, as he prepares to meet the exiled politician next week.
Machado has been in hiding due to persistent threats on her life, emerging only briefly in Oslo after a three-day mission in which she was smuggled out of the country with the help of the U.S. military for the Nobel ceremony.
“I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity Thursday.
Machado and fellow Vente politician Edmundo Gonzalez had been thought to be frontrunners to lead the country after the shock capture of Nicolas Maduro in U.S. raid at the weekend.
However, she was sidelined in the aftermath of his toppling, with reports suggesting that Machado’s Nobel prize win had sparked resentment for Trump who had coveted the accolade.
After Maduro’s capture, Trump said Machado was a “very nice woman” but that it would be “tough” for her to lead Venezuela because she did not have “respect within or the support within the country”.
In response, the Venezuelan leader offered to personally give her prize to the U.S. president.
“I’ve heard that she wants to do that,” Trump said of the potential offer. “That could be a great honor.”
Machado has been effusive in her support for Trump, dedicating her win to him in 2025, and supporting his campaign to tackle Venezuelan drug boats and overthrow Maduro.
But two people close to the White House told The Washington Post that the president’s negative comments had been sparked by Machado’s acceptance of the prize, saying it had been perceived as the “ultimate sin” by Trump.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” the source said.
Machado told Fox News: “Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated [it] to Trump because I knew at that point, he deserved it. And lot of people, most people said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday 3 January. And so, I believe he deserved it.”
“January 3 will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny. It’s a milestone, and it’s not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it’s a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity.”
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