White House makes clear demand of Nobel Foundation after being refused Nobel Peace Prize

The White House has demanded the Noble Foundation highlight Donald Trump's 'unprecedented accomplishments' since returning to office after the president missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was presented with the accolade in October 2025, after Trump stated on multiple occasions that he felt he himself 'deserved' the award.

The politician was honored for her efforts to promote 'democratic rights for the people of Venezuela', and recently met with the POTUS after she praised him for the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Trump posed for a photo with the Nobel Peace Prize medal in the Oval Office, with Machado later telling Fox News: "I presented the President of the United States the medal, the peace, the Nobel Peace Prize."

Donald Trump pictured with Machado and the medal in the Oval Office (Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images)

The Venezuelan opposition leader went on to say she handed the prestigious prize to Trump due to his 'unique commitment with our freedom'.

Following the meeting, the Nobel Foundation released the following statement: "Prizes shall be awarded to those who 'have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind' and it specifies who has the right to award each respective prize.

"A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed."

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung has since slammed the comments, suggesting Trump 'rightfully deserves' the Peace Prize after claiming to have ended 'at least eight wars' since returning to the White House this time last year.

Cheung wrote on X: "The @NobelPrize has now issued multiple statements/comments on President Trump (who rightfully deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace to at least eight wars).

Trump's comms team have hit out at the Nobel Foundation's recent statement (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

"Instead of trying to play politics, they should highlight the President’s unprecedented accomplishments."

Machado previously spoke to Fox News about 'dedicating' her award to Trump after he captured Maduro earlier this month.

She said: "Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated [it] to Trump because I knew at that point, he deserved it.

"And lot of people, most people said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, 3 January.

"And so, I believe he deserved it. January 3 will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny. It’s a milestone, and it’s not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it’s a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity."