The White House has reacted sharply to the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan democracy activist and opposition leader, instead of former U.S. President Donald Trump, whose supporters had openly campaigned for his nomination.
Machado was named the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate on Friday for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Her selection followed months of lobbying from conservative groups urging the Nobel Committee to recognise Trump’s efforts to broker peace in conflict zones, including the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula.
But Jørgen Frydnes, chairman of the committee, defended the decision, saying: “We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”
In response, Steven Cheung, White House Director of Communications, criticised the committee’s choice, suggesting that Trump’s global peace initiatives had been overlooked for political reasons.
“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” Cheung said in a statement on X.
“He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will. The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”
In 2009, former U.S. President Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian committee described as “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Referencing that decision, Trump said in a video posted Thursday that Obama won the prize for “doing absolutely nothing but destroying our country.”
Meanwhile, international leaders and human rights institutions have welcomed Machado’s recognition. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said the award “reflects the clear aspirations of the people of Venezuela for free and fair elections, for civil and political rights and for the rule of law.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, also congratulated Machado, describing the prize as an honour “not only for her courage and conviction but also every voice that refuses to be silenced.”
