If its a gift, supposedly as thanks for dethroning Maduro, it belongs to the US American people, and should never "disappear" to one of his properties like so many other things that belong to the people and not him specifically.
If it ends up anywhere else, it was an accepted bribe.
This is Trump who is the most transactional leader ever. It is obviously meant as a bribe from Machado and her backers. Venezuelan interests or people don't factor in this at all except that they are in the way. Trump couldn't make this any clearer. Nor Maria Machado, for that matter :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E7pHmYUCMk
Machado was planning to do the same as what Trump did anyway. i.e. privatize and sell all the oil to American corporations, as she explained to Trump Junior in February, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E7pHmYUCMk
The Nobel committee were probably hoping for a more finessed approach where the cia would instigate a popular uprising in which the armed peaceful protestors would storm the government and overthrow Maduro. The Nobel-Peace-Prize winner would then liberate Venuezala's oil and head the transitional government with democratic elections planned for 2045. Instead, Trump went for a more direct approach of straight up kidnapping the president, and stealing the oil.
Trump has bemoaned not receiving the Nobel prize for some time. He even tried to bully them into giving it to him this year. He failed, as often is the case.
Someone who wants to be installed as Venezuela's president gave him theirs as "thanks" for dethroning Maduro. That means the US owns it. Trump doesn't. And it's an obvious bribe, besides.
That $25,000 worth of Gold belongs to the USA, so Trump still has not "won" it, nor even achieved any appearance that he did. It is literally a "pity prize" ... like the kind schools give to the worst-achieving children, as a "participation award."
Once in the Presidential Library, it will forever be a symbol of Trump The Wannabe, Trump The Bribed, Trump The Loser. He accepted the pity prize, and everyone knows it.
That's why although he thanked her publicly, he did not post a pic of himself posing with it. That would increase the wannabe factor tenfold. He's better off kissing flags. It is literally the same as his earlier habit of hanging fake Time cover pages at Mar a Lago.
He's a loser, and this pity prize is gonna haunt him until he (finally) dies.
World class ego-stroking by Machado. Now we wait to see if it's a gift or bribe: will Trump offer something in return, either to Machado or Venezuela?
If its a gift, supposedly as thanks for dethroning Maduro, it belongs to the US American people, and should never "disappear" to one of his properties like so many other things that belong to the people and not him specifically.
If it ends up anywhere else, it was an accepted bribe.
This is Trump who is the most transactional leader ever. It is obviously meant as a bribe from Machado and her backers. Venezuelan interests or people don't factor in this at all except that they are in the way. Trump couldn't make this any clearer. Nor Maria Machado, for that matter : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E7pHmYUCMk
That's a bribe.
Nah, it's just like Tim Cook's trophy: an emotionally touching gesture that just so happens to be comprised of 24 karat gold.
Might as well because it was always meant as a tacit prize to Trump and the neocons/neoliberals anyway.
From October, 2025 : https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/10/16/how-trump-got-...
Machado was planning to do the same as what Trump did anyway. i.e. privatize and sell all the oil to American corporations, as she explained to Trump Junior in February, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E7pHmYUCMk
The Nobel committee were probably hoping for a more finessed approach where the cia would instigate a popular uprising in which the armed peaceful protestors would storm the government and overthrow Maduro. The Nobel-Peace-Prize winner would then liberate Venuezala's oil and head the transitional government with democratic elections planned for 2045. Instead, Trump went for a more direct approach of straight up kidnapping the president, and stealing the oil.
Take one step back, and consider what happened.
Trump has bemoaned not receiving the Nobel prize for some time. He even tried to bully them into giving it to him this year. He failed, as often is the case.
Someone who wants to be installed as Venezuela's president gave him theirs as "thanks" for dethroning Maduro. That means the US owns it. Trump doesn't. And it's an obvious bribe, besides.
That $25,000 worth of Gold belongs to the USA, so Trump still has not "won" it, nor even achieved any appearance that he did. It is literally a "pity prize" ... like the kind schools give to the worst-achieving children, as a "participation award."
Once in the Presidential Library, it will forever be a symbol of Trump The Wannabe, Trump The Bribed, Trump The Loser. He accepted the pity prize, and everyone knows it.
That's why although he thanked her publicly, he did not post a pic of himself posing with it. That would increase the wannabe factor tenfold. He's better off kissing flags. It is literally the same as his earlier habit of hanging fake Time cover pages at Mar a Lago.
He's a loser, and this pity prize is gonna haunt him until he (finally) dies.