Nobel Peace Centre trolls Donald Trump just after his claim that Maria Machado presented her Nobel Prize to him

After Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump on Thursday (15th January), who has long coveted the prize, the Nobel Prize museum centre has indirectly trolled Trump by saying that the title cannot be transferred.

In a meeting held at the White House on January 16, Trump “accepted” Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize, calling it a “gesture of mutual respect”.

President Donald J. Trump meets with María Corina Machado of Venezuela in the Oval Office, during which she presented the President with her Nobel Peace Prize in recognition and honor. pic.twitter.com/v7pYHjVNVO

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 16, 2026

“Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you, Maria!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Thursday after the meeting.

However, the official handle of the Nobel Peace Prize museum in Oslo wrote a long post on X the same day, taking a jibe at the US President. The organisers cited past instances when the Nobel Peace Prize medals were transferred after the awards were conferred. However, they added that even though the medal can be passed on, the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred.

“It measures 6.6 cm in diameter, weighs 196 grams and is struck in gold. On its face, a portrait of Alfred Nobel and on its reverse, three naked men holding around each other’s shoulders as a sign of brotherhood. A design unchanged for 120 years. Did you know that some Nobel Peace Prize medals have been passed on after the award was given? A well‑known case is Dmitry Muratov’s medal, which was auctioned for over USD 100 million to support refugees from the war in Ukraine. And the medal displayed at the Nobel Peace Center is actually on loan and originally belonged to Christian Lous Lange, Norway’s first Peace Prize laureate,” the Nobel Peace Center wrote on X on Thursday.

“But one truth remains. As the Norwegian Nobel Committee states: Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time. A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot,” it added.

The Nobel Peace Center is the official account of the museum about the Nobel Peace Prize.

The #NobelPeacePrize medal.

It measures 6.6 cm in diameter, weighs 196 grams and is struck in gold. On its face, a portrait of Alfred Nobel and on its reverse, three naked men holding around each other’s shoulders as a sign of brotherhood. A design unchanged for 120 years.

Did… pic.twitter.com/Jdjgf3Ud2A

— Nobel Peace Center (@NobelPeaceOslo) January 15, 2026

Trump has long been endorsing himself for the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that he ended many wars in the world. Trump was so keen on getting the award that he got himself nominated for the prize by leaders of several states, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, and Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir. When he was not chosen for the award last year by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, he complained bitterly.

Machado’s political aspirations

Notably, Machado had hailed the US military action and the capture of the Venezuelan President, Nicholas Maduro, by the US forces, in the hopes of replacing Maduro. However, her political aspirations had a setback when Trump backed Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, as interim leader of Venezuela.

But the Nobel laureate has not given up hope. Speaking to the media last week, Machado said that she wanted to give her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump. “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition,” she said, praising the US intervention in Venezuela.