Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump may not have received the Nobel Peace Prize this year, but the winner, an ally from Venezuela, dedicated the award to him. Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, said on X, “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause”! Trump campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize with claims of ending conflicts around the world, even a contested one about the India-Pakistan conflict, and received nominations from several countries. But the factor that worked against him was that the nominations to Norway’s Parliament closed on January 31, long before he waded into diplomacy.
And what is probably his consequential success so far – the initial peace deal on Gaza – came this month as the five-member prize committee of Norway’s Parliament had already picked the winner. Nevertheless, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung took a shot at the panel, saying on X, “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace”. But Trump appeared to take it in his stride, proudly reposting on Truth Social Machado’s X post that said, “We are on the threshold of victory and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve Freedom and democracy”. For the committee which chose her, it was a safe bet, selecting a leader aligned internationally with Trump, but also sending a message against authoritarianism.
