Nobel Peace Center Rebukes Trump After
Nobel Clarification
The Nobel Peace Center issued a rare public rebuke after Donald Trump displayed a
Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded to María Corina Machado.
The Center stressed that “ownership of a medal does not confer laureate status,”
emphasizing that Nobel honors cannot be transferred.
The Flashpoint
Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader,
received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for nonviolent resistance.
She said the medal was given to Trump as a symbolic gesture,
but critics accused him of claiming moral credit.
The Center underscored that “the object may move; the title does not.”
Political Tensions
White House messaging suggested Trump viewed the medal as validation,
while officials simultaneously downplayed Machado’s domestic support.
Observers called the moment symbolic appropriation.
Broader Implications
The episode unfolded amid shifting U.S.–Venezuela policy and democratic concerns.
As one scholar warned,
“Moral authority is not an accessory.”