Donald Trump has spoken up on the Nobel Peace Prize and claimed that the winner told him he 'really deserved it'.
Trump has made no secret of his desire for the award, which has been given to four previous US presidents including Barack Obama in 2009, Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and Jimmy Carter in 2002.
But this year Trump was not given the prize, which was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been an instrumental figure in working for democracy in Venezuela.
The 58-year-old is widely accepted as having beaten Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 election in Venezuela, but Maduro refused to accept the result and launched a political crackdown.
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Now, Trump has spoken out about the result of the prize.
He said: "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.' A really nice thing to do.
"I didn't say, 'Then give it to me', though.'"
In an apparent attempt to explain the committee's decision, he then said: "It was given after '24 and I was running for office in '24."
He added: "There are those who say that we did so much that they should have done it."
Trump then went on to seemingly reference the recent peace deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza which he was instrumental in negotiating.
"I'm happy because I saved millions of lives," he said.
Trump has frequently spoken of his desire to be given the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming to have ended seven wars and frequently referencing the prize in his speeches.
The White House previously responded to this year's award, saying in a statement that the 'Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace'.
Praising Machado, Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said she was given the award for 'her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy'.
He added that she has been a 'key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided... in a brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis'.
Responding to the announcement from the Nobel committee, Machado said: "We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
"I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
Topics: News, US News, Donald Trump, World News
Kit Roberts