Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump during a meeting with him at the White House on Thursday, January 15.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she had done so “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
The Nobel Institute, which awarded the prize, had said Machado couldn’t give it to Trump. The White House said before the meeting that, if she tried to do that, whether he accepted it would be entirely up to Trump.
Even if it was just symbolic, however, Machado’s gesture was extraordinary given that Trump has dismissed Machado’s credibility to take over leadership of Venezuela after an audacious US military raid that captured then-president Nicolas Maduro.
Later on Thursday, Trump praised Machado for presenting him with “her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” after the White House meeting.
“She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Machado presenting him with the medal was “such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
Visiting Trump presented something of a physical risk for Machado, whose whereabouts have been largely unknown since she left her country last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. Nevertheless, after a closed-door discussion with Trump, she greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the gates, stopping to hug many.
“We can count on President Trump,” she told them, prompting some to briefly chant, “Thank you, Trump,” but she didn’t elaborate.
The jubilant scene stood in contrast to Trump having repeatedly raised doubts about Machado and his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. He has signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2.
Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodriguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and delivered her first State of the Union speech during Machado’s Washington trip.
In endorsing Rodriguez so far, Trump sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. That’s despite Machado seeking to cultivate relationships with the president and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a gamble to ally herself with the US government and some of its top conservatives.
‘Doesn’t have the support or respect’
While Trump and Machado’s meeting was still going on, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Venezuela’s opposition leader “a remarkable and brave voice,” but also said that the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.”
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won the 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right,” but did not say when he thought that might be. She also noted that Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year with Trump, an honor he has coveted.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado,” the press secretary continued, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
All told, Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she’d offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias.” It wasn’t clear she’d heard the question as she hugged and her waiting supporters.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodriguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela’s interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”