By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Friday responded to not receiving this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, asserting that he had “helped” the Nobel peace prize winner Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, on several occasions.
He was speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump claimed that Machado had personally called him after the announcement to say she was accepting the prize “in his honour.”
“The person who got the Nobel Prize called me today and said, ‘I am accepting this in honour of you because you really deserved it’”. He humorously remarked, “I didn’t say give to me, though maybe she would have given it to me,” Trump said. “I’ve been helping her all along. Venezuela went through a disaster, and I’m happy because I saved millions of lives.”
Trump also argued that he deserved the Nobel for his role in halting multiple conflicts. “I asked, ‘What about the other seven? Shouldn’t I get a Nobel for each one?’” he said.
According to him, the response was, “If you stop Russia and Ukraine, you should be able to get the Nobel.”
He added, “I stopped seven wars. That’s one war, and a big one,” citing conflicts he claimed to have influenced, including those involving Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Rwanda and the Congo.
The White House criticized the Nobel Committee on Friday after the Trump administration was overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize, which was announced the same day. The administration claimed the selection reflected political partiality rather than a genuine commitment to global peace
“Once again, the Nobel Committee has proved they place politics over peace,” said Assistant to the President & White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said in a post on X.
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuelan politician and opposition leader María Corina Machado Parisca. Known for her fearless stand against authoritarian rule in Venezuela, Machado has spent more than two decades advocating for democracy in her troubled nation.
María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize win is a historic moment for Venezuela, a country that has faced political repression and economic collapse in recent decades, and for Latin America, where the fight for democracy remains challenging.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Machado for her “tireless fight for peace in Venezuela and her commitment to democratic principles despite personal risks.”
She was born in 1967, Machado is a trained industrial engineer and one of Venezuela’s most outspoken political leaders.
She began her political career criticizing the late President Hugo Chávez and his socialist government, accused him of harming Venezuela’s economy and silencing opposition voices.
She served as a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly from 2011 to 2014 and has since become a prominent voice of resistance in the country.
