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Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Venezuelan Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, called to say she accepted the award in his honour. “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called me and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honour of you, because you really deserved it,’” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, reported Reuters. “It’s a very nice thing to do. I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me,’ though I think she might have. She was very nice.”
The comment came after Trump was passed over for the prize despite his own campaign and lobbying for it.
Machado’s campaign manager, Magalli Meda, confirmed to the Associated Press (AP) that Trump congratulated her by phone and that she dedicated the award to him and to the people of Venezuela.
Trump said he believed the Committee focused on 2024 achievements but argued his record warranted the award. “I was running for office in ’24. But there are those that say we did so much that they should have done it,” he said according to Reuters.
He also noted that nominations for the prize closed on January 31, less than two weeks after he began his second term in office.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ending conflicts abroad, saying he has “ended eight wars since taking office.”
Earlier in the day, the White House criticised the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to honour Machado instead of Trump, who has long sought the prestigious prize. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said on X, adding that “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”
The Nobel Committee said Machado was being recognised “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” reported AP.
She dedicated the award to her fellow citizens and expressed gratitude to Trump. In a post on X, following the recognition, she wrote: “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”
Since the Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901, only three sitting US presidents – Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Barack Obama, have received it. Former President Jimmy Carter and former Vice President Al Gore were also honoured after leaving office.
(With inputs from agencies)
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