CNN: Trump Received The Nobel Peace Prize As A Gift, And It's No Laughing Matter

• 17.01.2026, 14:20

The President of the United States is willing to make important policy decisions under the influence of flattery.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado instantly became a cause for ridicule among Trump's opponents.

As CNN writes.com/2026/01/16/politics/nobel-peace-prize-trump-machado">CNN, while the situation is certainly amusing, it's actually far from a laughing matter, as this whole story raises the issue that some very serious foreign policy decisions with huge consequences are being made , at least in part, influenced by personal flattery

How Machado seized the opportunity

Last year, Trump made extremely explicit attempts to lobby for his Nobel Prize. When the prize went to Machado in October for her efforts to oppose Nicolas Maduro, she seemed to sense an opportunity.

She quickly dedicated her award to the U.S. president who coveted it, while revealing that she had approached Trump with a request - to help end Maduro's "war" against Venezuela. And as a result, she got what she wanted - on January 3, the Trump administration conducted an operation to overthrow Maduro.

Later, however, Trump refused to endorse Machado as Maduro's successor, saying she had "no respect in the country." Soon, Machado hinted that she might give Trump her Nobel medal - and so it happened.

Left as the ultimate tool

This demonstrates how "a woman who just won a major award - an award she literally risked her life for - felt compelled to give it up less than three months later to try to keep Trump on her side," CNN writes.

Another way to interpret this situation is that, despite the pressure, Machado used the medal as a bargaining chip, the outlet notes:

"This underscores the real risks associated with Trump's emphasis on flattery. And raises the question of whether major decisions such as overthrowing a foreign leader and shaping the future of this country can be made, at least in part, on the basis of personal merit."

Machado's reasoning seems to be that giving Trump the Nobel Peace Prize might have had some influence on him.

The result is that Trump has shown that he is indeed mercantile. And this episode, perhaps better than all the previous ones, highlights the potential problems with Trump's insistence on admiration and awards, the publication notes:

"This means that decisions are being made, at least in part, based on Trump's interests rather than the country's."