By Michael Havis, news reporter
A Nobel Peace Prize “can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others”, according to the awarding body.
Donald Trump has long coveted the prize and has been vocal in asserting his own deservedness, claiming to have stopped more than eight wars.
But the Norway-based body behind the award gave it to MarÃa Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, for standing against the dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The decision – which was announced in October – went down badly in the White House, with director of communications Steven Cheung saying “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace”.
However, after accepting the prize in December, Machado was keen to praise the US president, dedicating it to the people of Venezuela and Trump for his “decisive support”.
She subsequently told Fox News she wanted to “give it to him and share it with him”, which Trump said would be “a great honour”
‘Decision stands for all time’
But the committee that awards the prize has been unambiguous in shooting down her suggestion.
“A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others,” the committee said in a recent statement.
“Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time.”
The statement also said the committee would not comment upon what prize winners say after winning, though “this does not prevent the committee from following the future endeavours of laureates closely”.
What does Trump think of Machado?
For his part, the US president has been lukewarm on Machado since losing out on the prize.
After US forces captured Maduro in a raid on Caracas earlier this month, Trump backed Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy RodrÃguez, to succeed him.
Machado, he said, was “not respected” enough to lead the country.
It remains to be seen if Machado’s gesture today will change his view of her.