The White House has condemned the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado, bypassing US President Donald Trump. Senior aides accused the committee of prioritising politics over peace, with White House communications director Steven Cheung stating: 'The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.'
Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, tweeted: 'The Nobel Prize died years ago,' while Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, told Fox News that Trump 'deserves it more than anyone alive on this planet right now' and accused the committee of suffering from 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'. The White House insisted Trump has 'the heart of a humanitarian' and will continue making peace deals.
Trump had openly campaigned for the prize, pushing through a Gaza ceasefire deal ahead of the announcement, which diplomats said influenced his timeline. He also lobbied senior Norwegian officials and was backed by political allies. The Norwegian committee, in its announcement, attacked rising authoritarianism globally, a remark critics saw as a dig at Trump's domestic policies.
Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow at Chatham House, said Trump would be 'peeved' by the snub, noting he had 'lobbied shamelessly' and mobilised military resources off Venezuela. He added that Maduro's administration might benefit from Trump's reaction. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Trump's crisis resolution efforts but criticised the Nobel committee for awarding the prize to people who have 'done nothing for peace'.
