Former U.S. President Donald Trump sparked viral reactions online after accepting a Nobel Peace Prize medal from Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado during a White House meeting on January 15, 2026. Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against Venezuela’s authoritarian regime, gifted Trump her medal as a symbolic “gesture of mutual respect” for what she described as his role in supporting Venezuelan freedom. Trump thanked her in a Truth Social post, calling the moment “a wonderful gesture.”

Social media users quickly mocked the move—nicknaming it the “Nobel Please Prize”—because the medal does not confer Nobel laureate status and, according to Nobel rules, the official award cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked.

The dramatic exchange has drawn criticism and jokes online, underscoring how symbolic gestures of diplomacy can ignite heated discussion far beyond political circles.