Nobel Prize committee says Machado decision to give Trump award doesn’t change who won; The Hill, January 16, 2026

SOPHIE BRAMS, The Hill; Nobel Prize committee says Machado decision to give Trump award doesn’t change who won

 "The committee that awards the Nobel Prize said Friday that the physical symbols of the prize — a medal and diploma — can be given away, but the honor itself is “inseparably linked” to the winner.  

“The medal and the diploma are the physical symbols confirming that an individual or organisation has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize itself – the honour and recognition – remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee,” the committee said in a statement."

Trump accepts Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Machado; ABC News, January 15, 2026

Jon Haworth , ABC News; Trump accepts Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Machado

"President Donald Trump met Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal. The president called it a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect."

"María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done," Trump wrote on his social media platform. He also said that Machado was a "wonderful woman who has been through so much" and that it was a great honor to meet her.

Following the meeting, a White House official confirmed to ABC News that Trump did accept the medal...

Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office."

Trump says he will meet Machado — and would accept Nobel Peace Prize from her; The Washington Post, January 9, 2026

Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

 and 

Maham Javaid

, The Washington Post; Trump says he will meet Machado — and would accept Nobel Peace Prize from her

[Kip Currier: It's unfathomable for me to understand how someone could ethically and intellectually accept the Nobel Peace Prize from the individual who won that prize, knowing that the Nobel Committee members made the decision to bestow it on the person they deemed most deserved it.

Fortunately, this scenario remains in the realm of a thought experiment because of Nobel policy that prizes "may not be shared or transferred."]

[Excerpt]

"President Donald Trump said he would accept the Nobel Peace Prize if this year’s prize winner, María Corina Machado, offered it to him when she meets with him next week, but Nobel officials quickly announced Friday that the prize may not be shared or transferred.

“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said Friday. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”

“I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump said of the Venezuelan opposition leader during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that aired Thursday. Trump added that he heard Machado wants to give him the prize, and that it would be “a great honor.”"