Donald Trump’s acceptance of a Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has triggered widespread debate and confusion, particularly over whether a Nobel Peace Prize itself can be transferred from one person to another. While images of Trump holding the medal quickly went viral, the reality behind the Nobel system is far less dramatic than the symbolism of the moment.
The Nobel Peace Prize is made up of two very different things: the honour of being named a Nobel laureate, and the physical items that come with it, such as the gold medal and diploma. The honour is awarded solely by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and is permanently attached to the individual or organisation officially named as the winner. Once the committee announces its decision, that recognition cannot be changed, shared, revoked, or passed on to anyone else under any circumstances.
What can be transferred, however, is the physical medal itself. The Nobel medal belongs to the laureate as personal property. Like any personal possession, it can be gifted, loaned, displayed in a museum, or even sold. There have been several historical cases in which Nobel laureates auctioned their medals for charity or donated them to institutions. But ownership of the medal does not carry any legal or symbolic authority to claim the Nobel title.
In Trump’s case, what he received from Machado was the medal, not the Nobel Peace Prize honour. Accepting or possessing the medal does not make him a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, nor does it imply official recognition by the Nobel Committee. The title remains permanently with the person to whom the prize was awarded, regardless of what happens to the medal afterward.
The Nobel Foundation’s statutes are clear on this point. Nobel Prizes are awarded based on the committee’s assessment of contributions at a specific moment in time, and those decisions are final. There is no provision in the rules for transferring a prize, even symbolically, to another individual. This strict framework exists to protect the credibility and integrity of the Nobel institution and to prevent the prize from becoming a political or transactional object.
Machado’s gesture was therefore symbolic rather than legal. It was widely interpreted as a political statement of gratitude or alignment rather than an attempt to formally bestow the Nobel Peace Prize on Trump. While such symbolism may carry political weight, it has no standing within the Nobel system itself.
In summary, while Trump may physically possess the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred in any form. The honour of being a Nobel laureate is permanent, non-transferable, and tied exclusively to the original recipient. The episode highlights the difference between symbolism and institutional reality, and why the Nobel Peace Prize remains one of the most tightly regulated honours in the world.