Washington: Ever since US President Donald Trump first took office in 2017, he has been obsessed with the Nobel Peace Prize, and has made no effort to hide his deep sense of injustice that former president Barack Obama won it in 2009 for, in the eyes of the Nobel committee, his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”.

Trump has a different view, which he offered in an interview with The New York Times on January 7: Obama “was there for a few weeks, and he got it. He didn’t even know why he got it.” Trump then recited the now-familiar list of “eight wars” he claims to have stopped.

All this culminated on Thursday afternoon in a bizarre scene in a White House that has had its share of jaw-dropping events. The president took possession of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, which its true recipient, María Corina Machado, had turned over, framed in gold.

Donald Trump and Maria Machado with the Nobel Peace Prize at the White House on Thursday.Credit: X/The White House

It was a window into the president’s psyche, including his deep need for affirmation of his role as a “peacemaker,” even after a year of ordering military strikes on several continents. It was also revealing of Machado’s political calculations. Her party overwhelmingly won the 2024 presidential election in Venezuela but has been barred by Trump from any role in governing the nation after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Trump said he was “honoured” to finally receive the prize, and he grinned broadly as he posed with Machado in the Oval Office, holding the oversized frame. Shortly after, Machado left. The medal stayed.

“Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” Trump later effused on social media.........

© The Sydney Morning Herald