Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday she presented President Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, even as he’s questioned her ability to replace ousted-President Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan activist told reporters she attempted to gift Trump the med al during a meeting at the White House, calling the move a recognition of “his unique commitment [to] our freedom.” It’s unclear if the president accepted the medal, though the Nobel Institute has said Machado could not give her prize to Trump, an honor that he desperately coveted before it was awarded to her in October. If Trump did accept the gift, it would only be recognized by the Nobel Peace Center as a symbolic gesture. “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time,” the organization said in a statement on Thursday. But that may not matter to Trump. After his supporters complained that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize, international soccer organizers presented him with a FIFA Peace Prize that didn’t previously exist. The president called that trophy “truly one of the great honors of my life.” He also has a New England Patriots Super Bowl ring and the Chelsea soccer team’s 2025 Club World Cup trophy, according to The Guardian. Politico reported that a wounded Iraq war veteran also offered Trump his Purple Heart award in 2016. “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart,” Trump said at the time. “This was much easier.” Machado’s offer to Trump came as the two held a closed-door meeting to discuss what’s taking place in Venezuela and the future of the country after the U.S. military led an operation that removed Maduro from office on Jan. 3. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, were then flown to New York to face an indictment on charges of narcoterrorism brought by the Justice Department. They’re currently awaiting trial at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. Who will lead Venezuela next remains a question, as is Machado’s role in the country’s politics. Just hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump said it would be “very tough for her to be the leader,” because she “doesn’t have the support or respect within the country” — even though her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Following the meeting on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice,” but also said Trump’s opinion hadn’t changed. Leavitt told reporters that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right,” but did not say when that might be. Trump recently said that he’s in charge of the South American country, but has also praised its interim leader’s abilities. Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former second in command, has been serving as acting president, running day-to-day government operations along with others in Maduro’s inner circle. With News Wire Services ...read more read less