Donald Trump spent much of 2025 begging for a Nobel Peace Prize that he didn’t deserve and didn’t receive. The Norwegian Nobel Committee instead announced in October that it was honoring Venezuela’s María Corina Machado with the award. The president nevertheless suggested last week that he was prepared to meet with Machado, at which point he’d take possession of the honor she had been given.
This led the Norwegian Nobel Institute, which oversees the award, to issue a statement that had never been necessary before: Nobel Prizes, it said, are nontransferable.
On Thursday morning, as Machado prepared to visit the White House, the Nobel Peace Center issued a related statement to reiterate the underlying point: “A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot.”
Hours later, the Venezuelan opposition leader presented the American president with her medal during their White House meeting, and according to multiple accounts, Trump kept it.
“María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” the Republican boasted on his social media platform. “Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!” A day later, Machado, who’s eager to lead her home country and curry favor with the Republican administration, confirmed to Fox News that she’d given Trump her prize, saying he “deserves” it.
That reminded me of a story from almost a decade ago. Politico published this report in August 2016:
Without setting foot on a battlefield, Donald Trump said he received a Purple Heart medal on Tuesday at his rally in Ashburn, Virginia, from a retired lieutenant colonel and supporter.
‘I said to him, “Is that like the real one, or is that a copy?”’ the Republican nominee said moments after taking the stage at a local high school. Trump recounted the exchange, remarking that the man, who he identified as retired Lt. Col. Louis Dorfman said, ‘That’s my real Purple Heart. I have such confidence in you.’
“I always wanted to get the Purple Heart,” the then-candidate declared. “This was much easier.”
Purple Hearts are awarded to service members or their families after they’re wounded or killed in the course of their military service. Due to alleged “bone spurs” in his feet, Trump avoided military service, but by his own admission, he “always wanted to get the Purple Heart” anyway. Having someone who actually served in the military hand him the honor was “much easier” for Trump than actually wearing the uniform and putting his life on the line. With Machado, the story is similar: Trump wants the accolades without the sacrifice. He apparently prefers a model in which others do the heavily lifting and then generously turn over their honors to him, without him having to do anything to merit the award he covets. But while the president will likely celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize that ended up in his possession, he’ll know — we all know — that there’s a dramatic difference between a gift and earned honors.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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