President Trump said he looks forward to meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado next week, adding that it would be a “great honor” to receive her Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity she would “love” to personally give her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump, following U.S. air strikes that led to the capture of longtime socialist strongman Nicolás Maduro — a dramatic operation that reshaped the political future of Venezuela and the region.
Trump, who has repeatedly suggested he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, told Hannity on Thursday he’d be pleased to accept it from her.
“I’ve stopped eight wars,” Trump said. “I think it’s been a major embarrassment to Norway. Now, I don’t know what Norway has to do with it but that’s where the committee is located, a lot of Norwegian people.”
“Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump said in the interview with Hannity.
Over the weekend, Trump ordered precision air strikes in Caracas, culminating in the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation drew predictable backlash from Democrats and the media, who criticized Trump for acting without prior congressional authorization and questioned the risks of regime change.
The day after Maduro’s capture, Trump publicly cast doubt on Machado’s viability as an interim leader.
“It would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said, claiming she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.”
According to The Washington Post, Trump’s rejection stunned members of the Venezuelan opposition. Two sources close to the White House told the paper that Machado’s decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize last year — rather than explicitly refusing it in Trump’s name — was viewed as an “ultimate sin” by a president who has long believed he deserved the honor.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one source said.
Trump has repeatedly argued over the years that his historic diplomatic efforts — including the Abraham Accords, North Korea negotiations, and Middle East ceasefires — merited a Nobel Peace Prize, particularly after former President Barack Obama received the award early in his presidency. Trump has frequently mocked the Nobel Committee for what he views as partisan double standards.
