In a dramatic post-announcement reaction, former U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Friday that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, had called him to say she was dedicating the honor in his name. “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called me … and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honor of you because you really deserved it,’” Trump told reporters.

Trump added, “It’s a very nice thing to do. I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me,’ though. I think she might have.” He also claimed he had been “helping her along the way.”

Machado was awarded the 2025 Peace Prize “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.”

Trump, who had campaigned publicly for the prize, was passed over this year. He portrayed Machado’s dedication as validation of his global peace efforts - yet firmly denied ever asking her to “give” him the prize itself. 

Worldwide observers have noted the gesture is highly unusual in Nobel history and opens debates about influence, dedications, and the meaning of such acknowledgments.