The White House sharply criticized the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday after it awarded the 2025 Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, overlooking U.S. President Donald Trump.
White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said on X that the committee “proved they place politics over peace,” and praised Trump’s efforts to broker peace deals, claiming he “will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives.”
Cheung described Trump as a “humanitarian” capable of “moving mountains with the sheer force of his will,” while emphasizing that the president’s work, according to the administration, had saved countless lives.
Since returning to the White House in January for his second term, Trump repeatedly asserted that he deserved the Nobel for his role in resolving various conflicts. Observers have widely questioned these claims as exaggerated.
On the eve of the award announcement, Trump highlighted his recent involvement in brokering the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza, describing it as the eighth war he had ended.
He also downplayed the prize itself, stating: “Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for that, I did it because I’ve saved a lot of lives.”
Experts in Oslo had signaled before Friday that Trump was unlikely to receive the award. Analysts cited his “America First” policies and domestic political positions as largely inconsistent with the principles of the Nobel Peace Prize, established by Alfred Nobel in 1895.
The committee ultimately recognized Machado for her pro-democracy work in Venezuela, particularly her efforts to challenge authoritarian rule and unite the country’s fragmented opposition.
Trump’s omission from the prize marks another instance where his public assertions of global peacemaking have not translated into international recognition.
The White House response underscores the continued political sensitivity surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize and its role in highlighting global humanitarian and democratic efforts.
