The Norwegian Nobel Committee has made clear that its prestigious peace prize Donald Trump has acquired—without winning—will never be his.
Trump lost out on the coveted honor to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who on Thursday presented him with the medal “as a personal symbol of gratitude” on behalf of Venezuelans and in recognition of Trump’s “principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”
Trump, 79, grinned as he clutched his latest golden item.
But the president’s mere possession of the medal—and apparently not the diploma, which doesn’t seem to interest him—is nothing more than an ego-booster, according to the committee that selects the winner.
“The medal and the diploma are the physical symbols confirming that an individual or organisation has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” the committee said in a statement on Friday. “The prize itself – the honour and recognition – remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee."
Although recipients are allowed to sell, lend, or give away the medal, diploma, and prize money—and a handful have—doing so will not change the historical record.
“Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” the committee added.
Finally, the committee clarified that it cannot revoke the prize.
“The decision is final and applies for all time,” it said.
This is not the first time that the institution has issued a statement regarding the transfer of the prize. On Jan. 9, a Nobel spokesperson told the Daily Beast, in part, “A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked nor transferred to others.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Nobel Committee’s statement.
In giving the award to Machado, the committee cited her “long-standing struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in Venezuela.
Machado, 58, explained her rationale for then handing over her prize to Trump: “Because he deserves it,” she told Fox News on Thursday. But there may be more factors at play.
Trump, sources told the Washington Post, withheld endorsing Machado to replace President Nicolas Maduro after U.S. forces captured him because she had committed the “ultimate sin” of not turning it down last October and recommending that Trump receive it instead.
The opposition leader did leave the White House with something in exchange for the prize. Machado was photographed leaving with a red gift bag featuring the president’s signature in gold print. The contents of the bag have not been revealed.
Trump repeatedly claimed he should win the prize because he claimed he ended eight wars. He cold-called Norwegian diplomats to plead his case, but to no avail.
Instead, Trump was presented with the hastily created “FIFA Peace Prize” from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is now the subject of an ethics complaint regarding his Trump flattery.
