¿Can Trump keep María Corina Machado’s Nobel medal?

The presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize medal to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, by the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has opened a series of legal questions about the ownership of the gift: whether it belongs to Trump in a personal capacity or whether it should be considered property of the U.S. Government.

Machado presented on Thursday the medal corresponding to the prize he won last year during his first meeting at the White House with Trump, as a sign of “gratitude” for the US operation that deposed Nicolás Maduro on January 3rd.

You may be interested in: http://Trump insists he will intervene in Minnesota “if forced”

The gesture sparked a debate about the possible transfer of the award, a matter that the Nobel Committee settled by emphasizing that the ownership of the prize is not transferable. “A medal can change hands, but the title of Nobel Peace Prize cannot,” clarified the institution. The question remains, however, as to whether the medal presented should be considered a personal gift to the Republican leader or whether, on the contrary, it should be kept by the National Archives of the United States. White House sources confirmed to media outlets such as USA Today that Trump intends to keep it, an award he has long claimed as his own, assuring that he has ended several wars. The U.S. Constitution prohibits the president and other federal officials from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title” from a foreign government or monarch without the consent of Congress to avoid corruption or conflicts of interest. In the case of gifts from individuals or private companies, as would be the case of the medal of María Corina Machado, the rules are more flexible, with the only limit that no official favors are involved, as it could incur bribery. In fact, many of the most valuable gifts received during the presidency end up becoming part of archives, museums, or government repositories, while those of lesser value or clearly personal are usually considered private. In the case of the medal, it was framed along with a message from Machado dedicating the insignia to Trump as “gratitude for his extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength”. It’s not the first time the matter of gifts has generated some controversy in this Administration. Last year, the Qatari royal family gifted Trump a Boeing 747-8 valued at about $400 million.

Following a controversy over the suitability of accepting such gifts, lawyers from the White House and the Department of Justice prepared an analysis that endorsed receiving the aircraft, which is in Texas awaiting adaptation.

Trump was indicted in 2023 for taking classified documents from his first term in the White House, including letters from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which he kept at his private mansion in Florida, a case that was dismissed when he returned to power.