Washington, Oct 11: Former US President Donald Trump on Friday addressed the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize announcement, asserting that he had played a key role in supporting Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the awardee. Trump emphasized that while he did not claim the prize for himself, Machado had allegedly called him to say she accepted it “in his honour.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “The person who got the Nobel Prize called me today and said, ‘I am accepting this in honour of you because you really deserved it.’ I didn’t say give to me, though maybe she would have given it to me. I’ve been helping her all along. Venezuela went through a disaster, and I’m happy because I saved millions of lives.”
Trump also reiterated that he believed he deserved recognition for halting multiple conflicts globally, including disputes involving Armenia-Azerbaijan, Kosovo-Serbia, Israel-Iran, Egypt-Ethiopia, and Rwanda-Congo. “I stopped seven wars. That’s one war, and a big one,” he claimed.
The White House, through communications director Steven Cheung, criticised the Nobel Committee for allegedly favouring politics over peace. “Once again, the Nobel Committee has proved they place politics over peace,” Cheung wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to María Corina Machado Parisca, praised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for her “tireless fight for peace in Venezuela and her commitment to democratic principles despite personal risks.” Machado, a trained industrial engineer born in 1967, has been a prominent voice against authoritarian rule in Venezuela, serving in the National Assembly from 2011 to 2014 and advocating for democracy over the past two decades.
Her award marks a historic moment for Venezuela and Latin America, highlighting the challenges faced by democratic movements in the region and Machado’s courageous efforts to promote political freedom.