The internet is buzzing after a very unusual moment involving President Donald Trump and a Nobel Peace Prize medal — and now the Nobel Peace Center has officially spoken out.

A surprising “gift” in the Oval Office

According to reports, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado — who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 for defending democratic rights in Venezuela — recently visited Trump at the White House.

During their meeting, Machado reportedly presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, calling it a symbolic gesture of respect and praising what she described as his role in supporting freedom and defeating authoritarianism in her country.

Photos of Trump holding the medal quickly spread online, fueling debate and confusion over what the gesture actually meant.

Nobel Peace Center issues a rare clarification

Following the viral reaction, the Nobel Peace Center stepped in to clear up the most important detail:

✅ The physical medal can be handed to someone else.
❌ But the Nobel Peace Prize title cannot be transferred.

The Center emphasized that once the Nobel Committee names a winner, that person remains the official Nobel Peace Prize laureate permanently — even if the medal itself changes hands.

This has happened before

The Nobel Peace Center also noted that while unusual, this situation isn’t completely unheard of. In the past, Nobel medals have been given away for symbolic reasons or donated for causes — but the official recognition always stays with the original recipient.

Why the story is spreading so fast

Trump has publicly claimed multiple times that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize — and this moment instantly became controversial because it looked, to many people, like he had “received” one.

But the Nobel Peace Center’s response draws a hard line between symbolic gestures and official Nobel status — meaning Machado remains the only Nobel Peace Prize winner in this story, regardless of where the medal ends up.