Donald Trump has been presented with a Nobel Peace Prize medal by Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, who won the award last year.
Speaking to reporters outside the US Capitol after her meeting with the president, Ms Machado said she gave the medal to Trump.
She told Sky’s US correspondent James Matthews that it was in “recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom”.
Mr Trump, who has long coveted a Nobel Peace Prize, accepted the medal, according to a White House official, who briefed NBC News, Sky’s US partner, calling it a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.
In a post on Truth Social, his own social network, the president wrote: “She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much.
“María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”
The decision to award the prize to Ms Machado went down badly with the US president after it was revealed last year.
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White House director of communications Steven Cheung commented then that “the Nobel committee proved they place politics over peace”.
After accepting the prize, Ms Machado was quick to praise the US president, dedicating it to the people of Venezuela and Mr Trump for his “decisive support”.
She subsequently told Fox News she wanted to “give it to him and share it with him”, which Mr Trump said would be “a great honour”.
Ms Machado greeting supporters as she departs the White House. Pic: Reuters
But the committee that awards the prize has been unambiguous in shooting down her suggestion.
“A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others,” the committee said in a statement.
“Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time.”
Ahead of the meeting at the White House, there was speculation that Ms Machado might hand over the prize.
The Nobel committee appeared to address the speculation again on Thursday morning, offering two previous examples of the medal changing hands.
“A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot,” the committee added in the post on X.
Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, Matthews said Ms Machado was “trying to push all the buttons” of the president.
“She said she gave him the Nobel Peace Prize, quite what he’s done with that, we didn’t get the answer to that,” he said.
“She’s certainly trying to push all the buttons with the American president, trying to make sure that he’s got the Venezuelan politics in mind beyond access to Venezuelan oil reserves.”
Ms Machado speaks during a press conference at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway. Pic: AP
For his part, the US president has been lukewarm on Ms Machado since losing out on the prize.
After US forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Caracas earlier this month, Mr Trump backed the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to succeed him.
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Ms Machado, he said, was “not respected” enough to lead the country.
Prior to the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s assessment, saying it was “based on realities on the ground”.
(L-R) Delcy Rodriguez, Ms Machado and Nicolas Maduro
“At this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” she said.
She also said Venezuela’s new leadership had been “extremely cooperative” and “we’ll expect that cooperation to continue”.
Whether Ms Machado’s medal will move the needle in her favour remains unclear, but Mr Trump did not address her gesture in a press conference after their meeting.
Earlier in the day, the US seized another sanctioned tanker, the Veronica, this time in the Caribbean, in an operation confirmed by the US military’s Southern Command.
Trump given Nobel Peace Prize by its Venezuelan winner at White House
