Washington, October 11: U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Venezuelan opposition leader and newly announced Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado called to tell him she was accepting the award in his honour, shortly after the White House sharply criticised the Nobel Committee for choosing “politics over peace.”
Earlier in the day, the White House accused the Nobel Committee of ignoring Trump’s global peace efforts, including his role in brokering ceasefire and hostage-release deals, particularly in Gaza. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. 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, adding that “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”
When asked about the award during an Oval Office interaction, Trump said he was pleased that Machado had personally reached out to acknowledge his contribution. “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honour of you, because you really deserved it,’” Trump told reporters. “It’s a very nice thing to do. I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me,’ though I think she might have. She was very nice.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Machado for being among the “courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist” authoritarian rule. Trump, who had openly campaigned for the prize, argued that his peace initiatives—ending eight wars, according to him—warranted recognition.
“I was running for office in 2024, but there are those who say we did so much that they should have done it anyway,” Trump remarked, insisting that overlooking him was “a big insult” to the United States.
The Nobel Committee’s decision, made from nominations submitted before January 31, effectively considered achievements prior to Trump’s return to office in January 2025. Despite his disappointment, Trump maintained that his administration’s actions “saved countless lives” and set a new global standard for peace diplomacy.
