US President Donald Trump met on Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who presented him with the Nobel Peace Prize medal. The president described it as a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
Trump wrote on his social media platform: “Maria presented me with the Nobel Peace Prize for the work I did.” He also said that Machado was “an amazing woman who has suffered 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 accepted the medal.
The White House did not immediately reveal further details about the closed meeting. In response to a question from ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce, Trump said that the meeting was “wonderful.”
US President Trump meets with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in the Oval Office, where she presented the President with the Nobel Peace Prize, in Washington, D.C., United States, which was issued on January 15, 2026.
Daniel Turok/The White House/via Reuters
Machado told reporters as she left the White House that she presented Trump with her award and talked about the history between the two countries.
“I told him this… Listen to this… 200 years ago, General Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face on it. Since then, Bolivar has kept this medal for the rest of his life,” she told reporters.
“In fact, when you see his photos, you can see the medal there. It was presented by General Lafayette as a sign of brotherhood between the United States, the people of the United States, and the people of Venezuela in their struggle for freedom against tyranny. And throughout 200 years of history, the people of Bolívar have been giving back to Washington’s heir, a medal, in this case the Nobel Peace Prize Medal, in recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom,” she added.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House after her meeting with President Donald Trump, on January 15, 2026, in Washington.
Brendan Smielowski/AFP via Getty Images
Simón Bolívar liberated Venezuela and several other Latin American countries from Spanish rule in the 19th century. The Marquis de Lafayette was a French citizen who volunteered to fight with American colonists during the Revolutionary War, eventually rising to become one of George Washington’s most trusted generals.
Machado did not provide any further details about her meeting with Trump.
She won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her work “in promoting the democratic rights of the people of Venezuela” and seeking to move the country from dictatorship to democracy.
Machado dedicated the award to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced in October 2025.
She said last week that she would like to give or share the award with Trump, who oversaw the successful US operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Maduro faces drug trafficking charges in New York, for which he has pleaded not guilty.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House after her meeting with President Donald Trump, on January 15, 2026, in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“I would certainly like to be able to tell him in person that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is an award for the Venezuelan people — we certainly want to give it to him and share it with him,” Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday. “What he did is historic. It is a big step towards democratic transformation.”
The Norwegian Nobel Institute issued a statement Last week he said that once the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, “it cannot be annulled, shared or transferred to others. Once announced, the decision remains in effect forever.”
When asked earlier this month whether Machado could become the next leader of Venezuela, Trump said it “would be very difficult for her” because she “doesn’t have the support or respect inside the country.”
Trump said on Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, their first since the US arrested authoritarian Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during the bill signing in the Oval Office. “And I think we get along very well with Venezuela.”
The president said last week on his social media platform that he “cancelled the second wave of previously expected attacks” on Venezuela after the government released several political prisoners, but added that “all ships will remain in place for safety and security purposes.”
This set of photos taken on January 14, 2026 shows US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2025, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2025. On January 15, US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose pro-democracy movement he has marginalized since the ouster The government in her country. The leader, who openly envies him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mandel Ngan, Andersen The Stranger/AFP via Getty Images
Trump has aspired and openly campaigned to win a Nobel Prize himself since returning to office. White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung criticized the Nobel Committee for its decision after announcing Machado as the latest winner.
“[Trump] “He has a human heart, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with his sheer willpower,” Cheung said in a speech. Share X. “The Nobel Committee has proven that it puts politics above peace.”
Jürgen Watney Friedens, head of the Nobel Committee, was asked about Trump’s “campaign” for the prize last year, but denied that it had any influence on the decision-making process.
“We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year from people who want to say what leads to peace for them,” Friedens said. “This committee sits in a room full of pictures of all the winners, and this room is full of courage and integrity. We base our decision solely on the work and will of Alfred Nobel.”
