Nobel Peace Prize goes to Maria Corina Machado, despite calls for Trump to win

The Nobel Committee awarded this year’s peace prize to Maria Corina Machado amid calls for President Donald Trump to receive the award in the wake of his brokering a historic deal between Israel and Hamas. 

Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader, was described as a “brave and committed champion of peace” by Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” Frydnes said.

Trump has received several high-profile nominations since returning to office. However, the committee’s deadline for nominations was Jan. 31, meaning he could be eligible for next year’s prize.

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During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump was asked about the Nobel Peace Prize, but did not comment on the award in his response. Instead, he focused on the possibility of addressing Israel’s Knesset.

Earlier this week, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the families of hostages and terror victims formed after Oct. 7, appealed to the committee on Trump’s behalf.

“In this past year, no leader or organization has contributed more to peace around the world than President Trump. While many have spoken eloquently about peace, he has achieved it. While others have offered empty promises, he has delivered tangible results that have saved countless lives,” the forum wrote in a letter to the committee dated Oct. 6.

“He has not merely spoken of peace — he has delivered it,” the forum added.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump in July during a visit to Washington, D.C., that he had nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize. Netanyahu handed the letter he sent the committee to Trump when he told him the news.

“The president has already realized great opportunities. He forged the Abraham Accords. He’s forging peace, as we speak, in one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said. “So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It’s nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved.”

Weeks prior to that meeting, the U.S. and Israel carried out major operations that destroyed Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, as both countries warned a nuclear Tehran would be a threat to the world.

Trump was nominated for the award in the past but was not selected. Notably, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., nominated Trump for the prize in 2020 when he brokered the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and Arab nations.

Had he won, Trump would have become the fifth U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Previous laureates include former President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, former President Woodrow Wilson and former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.