Donald Trump will not be able to receive Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize, as confirmed by the organization responsible for the prestigious award.

Initially, Machado dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump, expressing her intention to hand over the trophy. Trump had responded by saying it would be “a great honor” to accept such a gesture.

However, on Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee clarified that this transfer is not feasible.

In a statement, the committee noted the frequency of inquiries regarding the permanence of a Nobel Peace Prize recipient’s status. “The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time,” the statement read.

Additionally, the statement provided a link to the official Nobel Prize rules, emphasizing that “no appeals may be made against the decision of a prize-awarding body with regard to the award of a prize.”

The statement then links to an explanation of the Nobel Prize rules which includes that ‘no appeals may be made against the decision of a prize-awarding body with regard to the award of a prize.’ 

White House spokeswoman told The Daily Mail its clear that the president should get the prize regardless.  

‘President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize many times over. His direct involvement in major conflicts, leveraging tools from America’s military might to our superior consumer market, has brought peace to decades-long wars around the world,’ she said. 

Donald Trump (pictured) cannot officially be given Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize according to the committee that gives out the award

Machado (pictured) initially dedicated the award to Trump but has since expressed her desire to give him the trophy, which the president has said would be ‘a great honor’ to accept

‘The President’s legacy is already cemented as Peacemaker-in-Chief, so it is no surprise that he is being nominated left and right. However, as the President has said, he doesn’t care about the recognition – only saving lives.’ 

Machado, whose preferred candidate many believe should rightfully have been elected over now-deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, has consistently thanked Trump for his support.  

Shortly after her win in October, Machado took to X, writing: ‘I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!’ 

However, reports have suggested Trump’s displeasure with her acceptance of the prize – which he has long coveted – has left her out in the cold following the capture of Maduro, with Trump saying Machado ‘doesn’t have the respect’ in Venezuela to be named president.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Machado became more explicit in her desire to hand over the award to Trump.

‘Let me be very clear, as soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated to Trump because I knew at that point, he deserved it,’ she said.

Machado affirmed to Sean Hannity that the capture of Maduro was another reason she believes ‘he deserved it.’ 

Hannity asked if she had spoken to Trump since the military operation and his comments about her running the country and she admitted they hadn’t spoken since her Nobel Prize victory. 

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Machado became more explicit in her desire to hand over the award to Trump 

The host then asked: ‘Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize? Did that actually happen?’

‘Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but I would certainly love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.’

Machado is scheduled to be in Washington next week, where the ceremonial sharing of the prize could potentially take place. 

The president said he’ll ‘say hello to her’ next week after refusing to allow her power in the transition away from Maduro in an interview Thursday.

The president suggested he’d be honored to receive Machado’s award but that he ought to get as many as eight Nobel Prizes. 

‘It would be a great honor. I did put out eight wars, eight and a quarter because Thailand and Cambodia started going at each other again,’ he said.

He argued that the Nobel committee not giving him the prize this year has been ‘a major embarrassment to Norway,’ which is where they’re located.

‘When you put out eight wars, in theory, you should get one for each war,’ he said.

The president suggested he’d be honored to receive Machado’s award but that he ought to get as many as eight Nobel Prizes in an interview Thursday 

Trump distanced himself from Machado after Maduro’s capture, as White House insiders revealed his displeasure stems from her acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize – an honor Trump has long coveted for himself.

‘If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,’ a person familiar with Trump’s thinking told the Washington Post. ‘Her acceptance of the prize was an ‘ultimate sin.’ 

On Saturday, Trump had largely dismissed Machado’s prospects, saying ‘it would be very tough for her to be the leader’ and claiming she ‘doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.’ His comments caught Machado’s team off guard, according to people close to her.

Machado’s proxy candidate, Edmundo González, won more than two–thirds of the vote in last year’s election, which Maduro refused to honor by stepping down.

Instead, Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been put in charge on an interim basis.  

US officials say Venezuela’s vast oil wealth offers both an incentive for Rodríguez to engage with Trump and a source of leverage if she doesn’t.

In Venezuela, the armed forces have recognized Rodríguez as acting president.

People close to Machado say their team was caught off guard by Trump’s comments, and she has even garnered support from Republicans.

Representative Carlos Gimenez said in an interview that Machado would win an election if it were held today. 

Florida Republican Representatives María Elvira Salazar and Mario Díaz-Balart also held a press conference in Doral on January 3 to forcefully reaffirm their support for Machado.

Salazar, a longtime ally who frequently refers to Machado as Venezuela’s ‘Iron Lady,’ has made note that any democratic transition must occur ‘under the leadership of María Corina Machado.’

Díaz-Balart also shut down suggestions that she lacked respect by declaring that ‘the next democratically elected President of Venezuela is going to be María Corina Machado.’

Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul suggested Trump threw Machado ‘under the bus,’ over the Nobel Peace Prize.