Nobel Peace Center breaks silence after
Donald Trump’s arranged photograph with María Corina Machado was designed to appear as a form of justification. It portrayed the former president, who had often insisted he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize, finally “receiving” one from a laureate he had previously commended. For his loyal followers, the visual alone was sufficient. The authenticity of the moment was less important than his newfound ability to assert a recognition he felt was unjustly withheld.
The organizations associated with the Nobel Prize, however, responded quickly and with rare public clarity. They established a firm boundary regarding the meaning of the award. Using deliberate and moderate terms, both the Nobel Committee and the Nobel Peace Center outlined a crucial distinction. They clarified that while the physical gold medal can be given away, sold, or exhibited, the actual honor and title of laureate do not transfer with it.
According to their explanation, María Corina Machado continues to hold the status of Nobel laureate. Simply possessing the medal does not confer that distinction upon Donald Trump. Though their official statement did not reference Trump directly, its message precisely targeted and dismantled the staged event. It served as a clear correction to the implied narrative of the photo.
Ultimately, Trump departed with a tangible object—a symbol. Yet the episode also provided a new and pointed lesson. Some honors and titles cannot be acquired through sheer will, performance, or self-aggrandizement. The institutions reaffirmed that the Nobel Peace Prize’s legitimacy is rooted in its own processes and judgments, not in political theater or the ownership of a physical artifact.
