Congress MP Shashi Tharoor weighed on Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado’s “baton passing” gesture earlier this week after she handed over her medal to US President Donald Trump at the White House.
In an Op-Ed article for NDTV, Tharoor likened the moment to “watching the gold-plated collision of Venezuelan desperation and American ego”. He further said the gesture had managed to “offend the sensibilities of the Norwegian Nobel Committee”, while perfectly encapsulating the transactional nature of modern geopolitics.”
‘Machado’s attempt to buy global prestige’
Tharoor opined that Machado’s performative gesture had signalled her attempt to buy “global prestige” with her gold medal in a bid to secure relevance in the eyes of the US.
His remarks were in reference to US’ full backing for Delcy Rodriguez, who took over as the interim President of Venezuela after the capture and ouster of embattled leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump had side-lined Machado, a vocal critic of Maduro, claiming that she does not have enough support among the people of Venezuela to take charge as the new leader.
“Machado may have handed over the gold, but in doing so, she may have also handed over her last bit of leverage…A leader who is confident in her domestic mandate doesn’t need to offer up her highest international honour as a tribute to a foreign patron,” Tharoor wrote, adding that her actions reeked of “desperation driven politics”.
‘Nobel Committee’s ego bruised’
The Nobel Committee, which disagreed with Machado’s decision, was quick to issue a statement, saying that the laureate are “inseparable”.
“Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize”, it said.
Tharoor called the committee the “grumpy uncle of the international community”, remarking that its prestige had been bruised upon realising that their highly coveted honour could be used as a “bargaining chip in a bilateral photo-op.”
Why did Machado hand over the medal to Trump?
In 2025, Trump made repeated inaccurate assertions that he had ended eight wars across the world and thus, he deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The committee handed it over to Machado for her efforts to defend democracy and human rights in Venezuela.
Machado said she gave the medal to Trump “in recognition for his unique commitment to Venezuelan freedom” and framed it as an expression of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people after Maduro was captured.