The Nobel Foundation issued a formal statement last week after Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a visit to the United States.

In a statement titled The Nobel Prize and the laureate are inseparable, the Foundation said that “the Nobel Prize is not just a medal or a diploma, but a recognition of the laureate’s contribution to peace”, adding that the prize “cannot be separated from the values it represents”. The Foundation also stressed that “regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize”.

Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 for her leadership of Venezuela’s democratic opposition and her campaign for a peaceful transition away from authoritarian rule. In announcing the award, the Nobel Committee cited her non-violent political activism, mobilisation of civil society, and advocacy for democratic legitimacy in a repressive political environment.

The Foundation’s statement followed public confirmation that Machado had presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump, a gesture that attracted international attention. The statement did not dispute Machado’s right to give away the medal, but appeared aimed at distancing the institution from the political symbolism of the act.

According to the Nobel Foundation’s own published rules, there are no restrictions on what laureates may do with the physical items associated with the prize. On the Nobel Peace Prize website, the Foundation states, “There are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation on what a laureate may do with the medal, the diploma, or the prize money. This means that a laureate is free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items.”

The same page adds, “A number of Nobel medals are displayed in museums around the world. Several Nobel laureates have also chosen to give away or sell their medals.” The Foundation has previously acknowledged that Nobel medals have been donated, sold, or transferred by laureates without institutional intervention.

Machado’s decision to give her medal to Trump was linked by her supporters to his record of brokering negotiated settlements during his second term in office. They point to ceasefires and peace agreements aimed at ending active wars and cross-border conflicts, and argue these outcomes align with what the Nobel Peace Prize is meant to recognise.

Since coming to power the Trump administration brokered peace in the Middle East, a settlement to the war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, presented the first workable peace plan for Ukraine, prevented further escalation between Thailand and Cambodia in their border conflict, neutered the Iranian nuclear threat, and brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following recent clashes between the two countries in Kashmir.

However, Trump’s broader foreign policy posture has also unsettled many Western allies, with his repeated pressure on partners, and sharp rhetoric toward close allies including Canada and Greenland.

The Nobel Foundation said it would not comment further beyond its published statement.