Recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize are honored with a medal, a ceremony, and a monetary award exceeding $1 million. The prize has recognized significant contributions from organizations such as the World Food Programme and individuals like Malala Yousafzai. While most laureates retain their medals, a few, including recent winner and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, have chosen to part with theirs. Machado notably gifted her medal to former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has long expressed his desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize, with his supporters, including his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, advocating for his recognition. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have both been nominated for the esteemed award. Now, through Machado’s gesture, Trump possesses a Nobel medal, albeit not formally awarded to him.

While Machado’s decision to hand over her medal to Trump is within her rights, the Norwegian Nobel Institute clarifies that the honor of winning the Nobel Peace Prize is non-transferable. Consequently, despite Trump having the medal in his possession, the official recognition remains with Machado. Trump, however, did not hesitate to showcase his new acquisition on Truth Social, sparking both amusement and criticism. Norwegian politician Trygve Slagsvold Vedum commented on the situation, noting that Trump’s acceptance of the medal reflects his penchant for self-promotion and borrowing from others’ achievements, as reported by The Guardian.

The medal is Maria Corina Machado’s to do with what she wants, including giving it away. However, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has confirmed that the distinction of winning can’t be transferred to someone else, so even though Trump has the medal in his possession – – adding it to Trump’s collection of unexpected items – – he isn’t the winner. That didn’t stop Trump from bragging about it on Truth Social as well as getting judged for it. “Whoever has received the prize has received the prize,” Norwegian politician Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said. “The fact that Trump accepted the medal says something about him as a type of person: a classic showoff who wants to adorn himself with other people’s honors and work,” via The Guardian.

Machado isn’t the first person to no longer have her Nobel Peace Prize medal. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov was one of two Nobel Peace Prize winners in 2021. He received it for his work “fighting for press freedom.” In 2022, he auctioned off the medal for an impressive $103.5 million to help Ukrainian children refugees.

Other Nobel award winners have also gotten rid of their medals through various means. Danish physicists Niels Bohr and August Krogh auctioned off their medals to help the Fund for Finnish Relief during World War II. Bohr also helped melt down the gold medals of some other winners to help keep them out of the hands of the Nazis. And Hemingway donated his to 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature to a Catholic church in Cuba.