Posted on 01/16/2026 6:57:48 AM PST by DFG
Norwegian lawmakers reacted with shock and dismay over Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado’s decision to present U.S. President Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal.
“It’s completely unheard of,” Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor of international politics at the University of Oslo and former state secretary in the foreign affairs ministry, told public broadcaster NRK on Friday.
She called Machado’s gesture “disrespectful” and “pathetic,” saying it undermined the value of the prize, which the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards annually.
Raymond Johansen, a Norwegian lawmaker for the center-left Labour Party and former governing mayor of Oslo, said in a Facebook post it was “incredibly embarrassing and damaging to one of the world’s most respected and important prizes,” according to a Google translation.
Machado, who met Trump at the White House for the first time on Thursday, said the gift to the U.S. president was a “profound expression of gratitude for the invaluable support of President Trump and the United States to the Venezuelan people.” It comes after a U.S. military operation seized Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Jan. 3.
The U.S. president thanked Machado on social media, describing it as a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect.” The White House later posted a photo of Trump and Machado, with the U.S. president holding up a large, gold-colored frame displaying the medal.
The Nobel Peace Center, a museum in Norway’s capital dedicated to the Nobel Peace Prize, said in a post on X: “A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute had previously said: “The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”
“Whoever has received the prize has received the prize,” Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, leader of Norway’s Centre Party, told NRK. “The fact that Trump accepts the medal says something about him as a type: a classic scapegoat who will adorn himself with other people’s awards and work,” he added.
The White House was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Friday.
‘Politics over peace’
Trump has frequently spoken about his desire to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House responded to the Nobel Committee’s decision to award Machado the medal in October last year by saying they had “proved they place politics over peace.”
Some Norwegian lawmakers appeared happy to brush off Machado’s gesture, however, saying it should not be seen as an indication of who the award rightfully belongs to.
Dag-Inge Ulstein, leader of Norway’s center-right Christian Democratic Party, told NRK that there is “no doubt” that the Nobel Peace Prize still belongs to Machado.
Ine Eriksen Søreide, Norway’s former defense minister and a member of the center-right Conservative Party, agreed with Ulstein.
“Even though Trump has now received the medal, it does not mean that he has received the Peace Prize,” Søreide said.
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Wow. Can the Nobel Committee take it back?
Man oh man is she on thwir poop list now
lol.
Well, Janne Haaland Matlary, La Di Dah. 🤣
Jeeez these guys undies are all twisted. of course; Because Trump was given the medal as a thank you for rescuing her country does not mean that the Nobel Committe now recognizes President Trump as the award winner.
We all know this...Like a kid that wins the prize of a bicycle and gives it away to a neighbor that has no bike does not mean that the neighbor kid was the winner...
The Precious....award
You guys already crossed that bridge when you gave it to that lying shit for brains "Al Gore" and his worldwide fraud game.
You also crossed that bridge when you gave it to that black idiot who never did anything in his life of significance. You gave it to him for just being black.
The Nobel prize committee has already disrespected the prize by giving it to shitty people of no good account.
Giving it to Trump is finally setting a little part of your idiocy, right.
<< “incredibly embarrassing and damaging to one of the world’s most respected and important prizes,” >>
But awarding the prize to Yasser Arafat, the father of modern Islamic terrorism, wasn’t damaging to its credibility?
You know what actually undermined the value of the prize?
Giving it to that Kenyan jug-eared jackass in 2009, less than one year into his presidency, and giving it to Al Gore in 2007 for his promotion of the "global warming" scam. There are plenty of other ridiculous idiots who have been given the award, all of which also undermined the value of the prize. A recipient giving her award to Trump is hardly the problem.
She is trying to buy her way back into power. Perhaps she would be a good president if Trump and the US support supported her. After all, she did win the election fair and square. Trump ought to appreciate that.
She is desperately trying to get Trump to push for elections that she would probably win if they were held honestly.
It won’t work. Trump will stick with the current Chavista regime if he thinks he can have some control over what they do and are willing to let US companies have access to Venezuelan oil.
The Nobel Communist Committee are outraged.
They have missed a great opportunity to remain silent and respectful.
Talk about proverbial panties in a twist!
Kind of makes you think that even if DJT (and probably any non-woke/progressive) stopped every act of aggression around the planet the committee would still award the peace prize to Mandami type for all that he is “trying” to do for world peace . . .
And we used to slam the participation awards. Things certainly have changed.
Machado probably discovered the “medal” was made with Chinese steel and electroplated with 4K gold . . .
She didn’t win that was Edmundo González who won. Maduro wouldn’t let him take office. Gonzalez is currently the rightful president. Machado is currently the leader of the largest party in opposition to Maduro.
It comes after a U.S. military operation seized Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro
As is widely recognized by many countries, the legitimate president of Venezuela is Edmundo González Urrutia.
As CNBC well knows, the United States, Canada, several Latin American countries (e.g., Peru, Argentina, Ecuador), the European Union, and others expressed serious concerns about the presidential election or outright rejected the official results, with the U.S. explicitly recognizing González as the winner.
Got me. I thought this was the Bee
They gave a Nobel Peace prize to Barack Obama as a participation trophy.
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