Did Machado’s Nobel handover make Trump a laureate? What the rules say and who owns it now

U.S. President Trump meets with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in the Oval Office, during which she presented the President with her Nobel Peace Prize, in Washington, D.C, U.S., released January 15, 2026. Daniel Torok/The White House/Handout via REUTERS

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, sparking debate. The Nobel Committee clarified that while medals can change hands, the prize and laureate status are non-transferable.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has handed over her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump, triggering global headlines and an equally global debate. Trump accepted the gold medal at the White House, later describing it as a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect." But beyond the optics and political symbolism, the episode has raised a basic and unavoidable question. Can a Nobel Peace Prize actually be shared, transferred or claimed by someone else?

The short answer from the Nobel authorities is no. While the medal itself can change hands, the Nobel Peace Prize and the title of laureate cannot. Trump may now possess the gold disc, but he does not possess the prize.

What happened at the White House

Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote democratic rights and a peaceful transition in Venezuela, presented the medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House on Thursday. She described the move as “recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom".

Trump later posted on Truth Social that Machado “presented me with her Nobel peace prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.” A White House official confirmed that the medal will remain in Trump’s possession.

The gesture followed Trump’s repeated public claims that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for what he says were efforts to stop multiple wars. “You should get a Nobel Prize for every war you stopped. These were major wars. These were wars that nobody thought could have stopped,” Trump has said in the past.

What the Nobel rules actually say

Following the handover, the Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a clear clarification. The Nobel Peace Center stated on X, “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."

This position is rooted in the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation. Section 10 states, “No appeals may be made against the decision of a prize-awarding body with regard to the award of a prize."

There is no provision in Alfred Nobel’s will or in the statutes for revoking or reallocating a Nobel Prize. None of the prize-awarding committees in Stockholm or Oslo has ever considered doing so.

As a matter of principle, the Norwegian Nobel Committee also does not comment on what laureates say or do after receiving the award. Its mandate is limited to evaluating the work of candidates up to the moment the prize is awarded.

Medals can move, prizes cannot

While the prize itself is non-transferable, Nobel medals have frequently changed hands. The Nobel Committee noted that medals have been auctioned, donated or loaned in the past.

Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned his Peace Prize medal to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. The medal displayed at the Nobel Peace Center belongs to Norway’s first Peace Prize laureate, Christian Lous Lange, and is only on loan. Ernest Hemingway entrusted his Nobel Prize in Literature to a church in Cuba, while physicist Leon Lederman sold his medal decades after winning it. Argentina’s Carlos Saavedra Lamas saw his Peace Prize medal sell for $1.1 million in 2014.

In all cases, however, the status of laureate remained unchanged.

Political symbolism and Trump’s ambitions

Machado’s move is widely seen as politically motivated. She has openly said she wanted to dedicate the prize to Trump and told Fox News that Venezuelans wanted to “give it to him and share it with him."

The gesture comes at a time when Trump has shown little enthusiasm for backing Machado as Venezuela’s future leader. He has publicly said she lacks sufficient support inside the country and has even spoken positively about Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriguez.

CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins described the move as strategic. “What it comes down to is why she would do this? And that is because she wants to run Venezuela,” Collins said.

For Trump, the episode allows him to bask in Nobel-associated symbolism without actually receiving the prize. For the Nobel Committee, it has prompted a rare public reminder that while gold medals can be handed over, Nobel honours themselves are neither transferable nor negotiable.