US President Donald Trump speaks with Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado after the Trump administration criticized the Nobel Peace Committee in a social media post, calling the decision “politics over peace.”
Although many world leaders vouched for Donald Trump for the accolade, the nomination window closes at the end of January for the year, as per the details available on the website.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday, October 10, 2025, announced the 2025 accolade to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
The Nobel laureate Machado, later in an interview with the Spanish publication El Pais, said she had spoken with the US president but declined to delve into more details about their phone call.
The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria shared a post on X and expressed gratitude to Trump.
She wrote, “We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.”
While Donald Trump in his remarks on Friday evening confirmed he spoke with Machado.
Trump said, “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it.”
Trump quipped, “A very nice thing to do. I didn’t, I didn’t say, “Then give it to me,’ though I think she might have. She was very nice.”
“I’ve been helping her along the way, they need a lot of help in Venezuela, it’s a basic disaster. So, and you could also say it was given out for ‘24 and I was running for office in ‘24,” Trump added.
Donald Trump had publicly expressed his desire to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but his hopes were dashed on Friday, October 10, 2025, when the Nobel Peace Committee announced the 2025 accolade to Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader who is widely regarded as the country’s ‘Iron Lady’ for her struggle for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democratic rule in the country.
