Nobel Peace Prize goes to Maria Corina Machado, despite Trump’s calls for victory

The Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado, as President Donald Trump received the prize after negotiating a historic agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader, was described as a “courageous and committed champion of peace” by Joergen Watne Frydnes, president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work for the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” Frydnes said.

White House communications director Steven Cheung said Trump “will continue to make peace deals, end wars and save lives.”

NEW YORK TIMES ANALYSIS SAYS TRUMP HAS LEGITIMATE CLAIM FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IF MIDDLE EAST PEACE DEAL IS HELD

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures during an anti-government protest January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

“He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with sheer force of will. The Nobel Committee has proven that it puts politics before peace,” Cheung wrote on.

Trump has received several high-profile appointments since returning to office. However, the committee’s deadline for nominations was January 31, meaning he could be eligible for next year’s award.

At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump was asked about the Nobel Peace Prize, but did not comment on the award in his response. Instead, he focused on addressing the Israeli Knesset.

Earlier this week, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing families of hostages and victims of terrorism formed after October 7, appealed to the committee on Trump’s behalf.

“Over the past year, no leader or organization has contributed more to world peace than President Trump. Although many have spoken eloquently about peace, he has delivered on it. While others have made empty promises, he has produced tangible results that have saved countless lives,” the forum wrote in a letter to the committee on October 6.

“He not only talked about peace, he brought it,” the forum added.

President Donald Trump shows a reporter in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, September 30, 2025, in Washington, DC (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

Trump hailed as Nobel-worthy peacemaker for ‘historic’ peace deal between Israel and Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump in July, during a visit to Washington, that he had nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize. Netanyahu handed the letter he sent to the committee to Trump when he told him the news.

“The president has already seized great opportunities. He forged the Abraham Accords. He is forging peace, as we speak, in one country and region after another,” Netanyahu said. “I would therefore like to present to you, Mr. President, the letter that I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It nominates you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved.”

Hostage families in Washington after receiving news of President Trump’s announcement of a deal that would bring all hostages home. (Liri Agami and Alon Kaplun)

Weeks before this meeting, the United States and Israel carried out major operations that destroyed Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, despite both countries warning that a nuclear Tehran would pose a threat to the world.

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Trump was previously nominated for this award but was not selected. Notably, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., nominated Trump for the award in 2020 when he negotiated the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries.

Had he won, Trump would have become the fifth US president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Previous honorees include former President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, former President Woodrow Wilson and former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Greg Wehner and Caitlin McFall of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.