Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been pictured leaving the White House with a MAGA swag bag.
Machado made Donald Trump’s day on Thursday when she regifted him the Nobel Peace Prize medal she won in October.
Machado had given her award a Trump makeover, mounting it in a gold frame to match the Oval Office decor and including an inscription that flattered the president’s ego.
“To President Donald J. Trump. In gratitude for your extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength, advancing diplomacy, and defending liberty and prosperity,” it read.
Referencing the U.S. military raid that saw Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro seized on Jan. 3, the inscription continued “in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”
“The courage of America, and its President Donald J. Trump, will never be forgotten by the Venezuelan people.”
CNN claimed Trump plans to keep the regifted Nobel Peace Prize.
After spending over two and a half hours at the White House, including a private lunch, Machado was snapped leaving with a MAGA-cap-red gift bag that featured the president’s signature in gold print.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said on Wednesday that Trump often takes his guests on a tour of the White House gift shop, which is located outside the Oval Office.
“It’s not clear what she got in exchange,” Collins said on The Lead with Jake Tapper of Machado’s gift bag.
Collins later interviewed former National Security Adviser John Bolton on The Lead on Wednesday, who called the whole incident “shameful.”
“It’s the price of admission,” Bolton said of Machado pleasing Trump by handing him her Nobel medal. “Trump has wanted this. He’s got it. It’s just shameful that this is the way the President of the United States behaves. But I think it was wise of Machado to do it. You have to play with the hand that’s dealt you.”
When asked about Machado leaving the White House with a gift bag, Bolton laughed and said “It’s even more shameful. But this is Donald Trump.”
Collins asked Bolton if giving Trump her prize would be worth it if she does get to lead Venezuela.
“I think it,s worth the effort,” Bolton said. “I’m sure she can always get another medal. It’s just the medallion. It’s not the prize itself. And if it moves Trump even a little bit, I think that’s helpful. I’m not sure it will at this point. And sometimes when the moment passes, it just may mean the opposition is condemned to be on the sideline.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
