Days after President Donald Trump said it would be a “great honor” to share Nicolas Marudo’s Venezuelan opposition Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee clarified that the award is non-transferable.
On January 9, 2026, the committee took to its website to respond to reports of Machado being willing to hand over her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump.
Without directly taking any names, the organization wrote, “The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute receive a number of requests for comments regarding the permanence of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s status.”
It further clarified, “The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”
In an historic humiliation for America, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is forced to issue a statement making clear that No, a Nobel Peace Prize extorted from a duly awarded winner by an authoritarian president who has militarily seized her country as an oil colony, doesn’t count. pic.twitter.com/dvZrvb16Rn
— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) January 10, 2026
Machado first dedicated the award to Trump in October 2025, when she won the prestigious honor for her fight against an “authoritarian state.”
Earlier this month, she shared her willingness to hand over her prize to the US President after he captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife
“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,” Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity on January 3, 2026.
“And lot of people, most people said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3rd. And so, I believe he deserved it,” she said.
“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,” Machado added.
Hannity: Do you have any plans to meet with Machado and would you accept the Nobel prize she wants to hand to you?
Trump: I understand she’s coming in the next week sometime….that would be a great honor. pic.twitter.com/0K96Bry5Zj
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 9, 2026
When Hannity asked whether she ever had the chance to share her Nobel Prize with the US President, Machado said, “It hasn’t happened yet, but I would certainly love to be able to personally tell him that we, the Venezuelan people — because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.”
Trump later responded to Machado’s comments, saying he is open to accepting her award. The President told Hannity that he deserved to win multiple Nobel Peace Prizes for ending “eight and a quarter” wars.
“But you know, when you put out eight wars, in theory, you should get one for each war. It makes me feel so good. Not because of a Nobel Prize, but because I saved millions and millions of lives, and that’s what really makes me feel good,” he said.
When asked whether he is open to accepting Machado’s Peace Prize, the 79-year-old said, “Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her, and I’ve heard that she wants to do that. That would be a great honor.”
According to UNILAD, critics were quick to call out Trump over his comments, with political commentator Harry Sisson saying, “This is so beyond humiliating for the United States. Trump won’t support Machado in Venezuela unless she gives him the Nobel Peace prize she won. HE IS A CHILD.”
