Newly crowned Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado said in an interview published Saturday that she believes US President Donald Trump deserves to win next year’s prize.
Machado, a Venezuelan opposition activist and former presidential candidate, was announced as winner of the prestigious award on Friday, dashing Trump’s hopes of snagging the vaunted prize after securing the first phase of a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
After Machado was announced as the winner, Trump said the Venezuelan activist called him and said he deserved the award: “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 told reporters in the Oval Office later Friday.
When asked in a profile article in the UK’s The Times about the veracity of Trump’s claim, Machado confirmed her belief in the president being deserving of the award.
“I do want to say that I believe he does deserve to be recognized,” she said.
“I mean, in only nine months, so many conflicts have been solved or prevented,” she added.
“Especially as we speak, the conflict in the Middle East,” Machado continued. “I believe that the fact that there’s a solution in days to come, that the whole world has supported… I mean, this is remarkable. All parts involved, all countries around the world are supporting this solution. I think this is remarkable.”
As for next year, Machado told the outlet that Trump “certainly deserves” to be awarded the Peace Prize.
While the White House criticized the Nobel Committee for proving “they place politics over peace,” the vote had been closed before the Gaza ceasefire was confirmed last week, and most (but not all) of Trump’s nominations, including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came after the committee’s deadline.
Despite this, Netanyahu still took to his official English-language X account to criticize the Nobel Committee for awarding the Peace Prize to someone other than Trump.
“The Nobel Committee talks about peace,” he wrote, posting an AI-generated image of him awarding the prize to the US president. “President Trump makes it happen. The facts speak for themselves. President Trump deserves it.”
Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Nobel Committee chairman Frydnes said, “I think this committee has seen any [every] type of campaign and media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year from people wanting to say what for them leads to peace.
“This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”