Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Trump Spoke to Me After My Victory

 Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025, stated that she received a call from U.S. President Donald Trump following the announcement of her victory, despite the criticisms his administration directed at the Nobel Committee after its decision to award her the prize.


Trump expressed his gratitude and joked about the award

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Machado confirmed that she spoke with Trump but declined to disclose details of the conversation, merely stating that she feels grateful to him for his support.

For his part, Trump said in press statements that he spoke with Machado, adding that she was "very nice," and joked: > "I didn't say to her: Give me the award then, although I think she would have, she was very nice."


Trump added: "I was helping her all the time, and they (in Venezuela) need a lot of help. The situation there is catastrophic in every sense of the word."


White House Criticism of the Nobel Committee

Despite their call, Trump did not publicly congratulate Machado, at a time when his administration attacked the Nobel Committee after the award announcement, as White House Communications Director Stephen Chung stated in a social media post: "The Nobel Committee has once again proven that it prefers politics over peace."

CNN reported that it contacted the White House for clarifications on whether Trump had officially communicated with the winner, but did not receive an immediate response.

A Fighter for Democracy in Venezuela

The Nobel Committee announced that the award is given to Machado in recognition of "her efforts to promote democratic rights in Venezuela and her struggle for a fair and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."

Machado is one of the prominent faces of the Venezuelan opposition and has had to hide for long periods due to the crackdown campaign launched by President Nicolás Maduro's regime against opponents.

Previous American Support and Nominations

Several American officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, had nominated Machado for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, praising her "courage, selflessness, and adherence to ethics in the face of dictatorial regimes."

The nomination letter stated: "We have rarely witnessed such courage and commitment to democracy and human rights as we have seen in Maria Corina Machado."