\u201cThis is a historic moment and we wouldn\u2019t be here if it wasn\u2019t for yes, the commitment, resilience, generosity and courage of the Venezuelan people, but also because we have counted with the support, vision and courage of incredible leaders such as the president of United States, Donald Trump, and members of this honorable Congress,\u201d Machado told reporters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Machado presented the award roughly two weeks after U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan strongman Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and transported him to New York to face criminal charges\u2014an operation that stunned observers across the region and energized Venezuelans demanding democratic change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Machado later explained that she told President Trump about a historic symbol of shared liberation between the U.S. and Latin America: a medal featuring President George Washington that Revolutionary War Gen. Marquis de Lafayette gave to Venezuelan revolutionary hero Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cTwo hundred years in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal, in this case the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom,\u201d Machado said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
President Trump later shared photos from the Oval Office showing him holding the framed prize, with Machado standing beside him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobel Committee pushes back, critics pile on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone praised the moment. The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasized that while a physical medal can change hands, the Nobel honor itself does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRegardless 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,\u201d the committee stated. \u201cEven if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else\u2019s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwegian Labour Party politician Raymond Johansen criticized Trump for accepting the medal, calling it \u201cincredibly embarrassing and damaging.\u201d And Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) also took a shot at the president, saying Trump looked \u201ckind of silly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump and the Nobel: longstanding controversy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Trump has been openly vocal in the past about being passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize, especially after major foreign-policy efforts. He campaigned for it last October, before Machado ultimately won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president also linked the Nobel snub to his thinking about Greenland, according to a text exchange with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cDear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,\u201d Trump wrote St\u00f8re.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Trump later softened his remarks while speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and subsequently announced a \u201cframework\u201d for a deal involving the Danish territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n