The White House criticized the Nobel Prize Committee’s decision to award the peace prize to a Venezuelan opposition leader instead of President Trump.
“President Trump will continue to make peace deals, end wars and save lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a post on the social network X.
“The Nobel Committee demonstrated that it puts politics before peace,” he added to highlight Trump, who aggressively lobbied for the prize and promoted his role as a mediator in international ceasefire agreements.
Republicans from all sectors claim, simply, that the award was stolen. Many see him as a peacemaker who has ended conflicts around the world and accuse the Nobel Committee of favoritism.
“The Nobel Committee, a progressive group, gave Obama the peace prize for doing nothing,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) in a post on X. “They wouldn’t recognize peace if it was in front of them.”
Nobel Peace Prize honors Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado
But Trump’s lobbying probably came too late. Nominations for this year’s award were due in late January, just days after Trump returned to the Oval Office.
Florida Republicans, including Senator Rick Scott, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and United Nations Ambassador Michael Waltz, then members of Congress, sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in August 2024 supporting the nomination of Venezuelan María Corina Machado.
Scott posted separate messages on Friday, congratulating Machado for “risking his life to stand up to Maduro and his brutal dictatorship,” before praising the president.
“I hope the Committee takes this into account when selecting the next award winner – it should be @POTUS!” [el presidente]Scott wrote.
“Peace in the Middle East has eluded presidents for DECADES,” said Republican Congressman Richard Hudson. “It is a shame that President Trump did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize for everything he has done for peace in the region. If the committee didn’t do it, I will!”
Far-right activist Laura Loomer called Machado’s Nobel Prize “an absolute joke.” Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty called it “unbelievable.”
Meanwhile, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall is already thinking about next year, he said Friday on Newsmax. “That’s the hope,” Marshall said. “He certainly deserves it for the work he has already done.”
“Will they give me the Nobel Prize? Of course not. They’ll give it to some guy who hasn’t done anything,” Trump told his top military commanders last month. He also stated that it would be a “great insult” to the United States if it did not receive it.
