Washington
\nThe White House has accused the Nobel Committee of placing \u201cpolitics over peace\u201d for awarding its most coveted prize to a Venezuelan pro-democracy activist over US President Donald Trump.
\nOn Friday, the Committee announced Mar\u00eda Corina Machado would receive the Peace Prize for her \u201ctireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela\u201d.
\nTrump has been outspoken about his desire for the award, taking credit for ending several global conflicts. He regularly brought it up, including during his address to the UN General Assembly in September.
\nHe called Machado to congratulate her and say she deserved the award, a senior White House official told CBS, the BBC\u2019s US media partner.
\n\u201cThe Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace,\u201d White House communications director Steven Cheung said after the announcement on Friday morning.
\n\u201cPresident Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,\u201d Cheung wrote on X. \u201cHe has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.\u201d
\nTrump has played a significant role in forcing a multi-stage deal for a ceasefire in Gaza, which was announced two days before the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded.
\nThe president has also asserted that he ended numerous global conflicts during his nine months in office, and in his previous term.
\nFollowing the announcement of the ceasefire deal in Gaza, Trump declared: \u201cBLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS.\u201d The White House called him \u201cthe peace president\u201d.
\nTrump\u2019s ambitions for a Nobel Peace Prize are well known, and mentioning his name for the award has become common among leaders seeking to advance diplomatic interests with the US.
\nMany foreign leaders, including Israel\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have publicly argued that Trump deserves the prestigious honour.
\nAsked by reporters to react to the Nobel Prize, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Trump was doing a lot to resolve complex crises.
\n\u201cThank you to President Putin!\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday alongside a video of Putin saying \u201cthis award has lost credibility\u201d.
\nMachado herself praised Trump on X following her win, writing that \u201cI dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!\u201d
\nTrump reshared Machado\u2019s message on his Truth Social platform. But despite the lobbying, Trump faced hurdles this year.
\nNominations for the Nobel Peace Prize close on 31 January of each year, according to the awards website, just days after Trump took office.
\nThe Nobel Committee meets between February and September to whittle down the list of nominees.
\nMarco Rubio, now Trump\u2019s secretary of state, was among a group of Congress members who nominated Machado for the prize in August 2024, while he was still a US senator.
\nIt is not clear what achievement Trump would have secured for this year.
\nRussia\u2019s war with Ukraine continues to rage, despite Trump\u2019s demands that both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin broker an end to the bloodshed.
\nThe ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is a significant development, but it is still in its initial stage.
\nIn his second term, Trump has pursued an \u201cAmerica-first\u201d policy, dramatically reshaping its place in the global economy and diplomatic stage.
\nWeeks into taking office, his then-advisor Elon Musk oversaw the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which provided humanitarian assistance throughout the world.
\nThe Nobel Committee awards the Peace Prize to leaders who champion \u201carms control and disarmament, peace negotiation, democracy and human rights, and work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world,\u201d according to its website.
\nTrump\u2019s mass deportation policies have sparked protests across the US and drawn criticism from immigrant rights and humanitarian groups.
\nTrump\u2019s attempt to use National Guard troops to patrol US cities for the stated intent of controlling violence and crime has raised alarm from Democrats and rebukes from federal judges over his use of the military on domestic soil.
\nFour US presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.
\nOnly Obama won the prize while in office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington The White House has accused the Nobel Committee of placing \u201cpolitics over peace\u201d for awarding its most coveted prize to a Venezuelan pro-democracy activist over US President Donald Trump. On Friday, the Committee announced Mar\u00eda Corina Machado would receive the Peace Prize for her \u201ctireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela\u201d. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-508120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n