Trump claps back at reporter asking why he wanted 'someone else’s' Nobel Prize: 'I deserve this'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has sparked backlash and ridicule after accepting a Nobel Peace Prize medal offered to him by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday, Jan 15.

The latest moment of criticism unfolded during a press interaction on Friday when Trump was asked to explain his decision to accept the medal even though Nobel Prizes are not transferable and remain permanently tied to the original recipient.

Trump rejected the premise of the question, defending his decision and praising Machado.

Reporter grills Trump as he remains defensive

During a press interaction on Friday, a reporter asked the president, “Why would you want somebody else’s Nobel Prize?”

Trump remained defensive, framing the offer as a personal and symbolic gesture rather than an attempt to claim formal credit.

“Well, she offered it to me. I thought it was very nice,” Trump replied. “She said, you know, you’ve had eight wars and nobody deserves this prize more than in history than you do. And I thought that was a very nice gesture.”

The president went on to describe the meeting with Machado emphasizing that he had been impressed by her personally and politically.

“And by the way, I think she’s a very fine woman and we’ll be talking again,” he added.

“I had a great meeting yesterday with a person who I have a lot of respect for,” Trump said. “And she has respect, obviously, for me and our country. And she gave me her Nobel Prize.”

Trump continued saying, “But I’ll tell you what, I got to know her. I never met her before. And I was very, very impressed. She’s a really fine woman.”

Nobel rules leave no ambiguity

While Trump defended the gesture, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has long maintained that Nobel Peace Prizes cannot be transferred or reassigned under any circumstances.

“Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the institute has stated.

“Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

In a post on X, the institute re-stated, “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”

Machado frames offer as political signal

Machado later framed the exchange as a gesture of political alignment and trust, rather than a literal handover of the award.

“President Trump, on behalf of the Venezuelan people, thank you for this consequential conversation,” she wrote on X. “One that reaffirms Venezuelans’ deep trust in the United States and in your leadership.”

She added: “Together, we will build a free and sovereign Venezuela”, she posted after giving her Nobel prize to Trump.