Former National Security Adviser John Bolton called it "shameful" to see María Corina Machado leaving the White House with a large red bag bearing Trump`s signature.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado walked out of the White House on Thursday after giving President Donald Trump her coveted Nobel Peace Prize award, holding a deep red bag with his signature on it.

Machado, an open critic of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, dedicated her award to Trump last year, after he had fiercely campaigned to get it for himself.

She teased wanting to give the U.S. president her award earlier this month following Maduro`s capture during a controversial U.S military operation in her country, despite Trump claiming Machado lacked the "respect" needed from the Venezuelan people to lead the country.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado carries a gift bag with President Donald Trump`s signature on it outside the White House following a meeting with Trump on Jan. 15.Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Regardless of the U.S president`s lack of support, Machado gave him her award Thursday, comparing the moment to the Continental Army General Marquis de Lafayette giving Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar a medal featuring an image of George Washington.

"She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect," Trump wrote on Truth Social, still not endorsing her.

The Nobel Peace Center clarified that while the medal can be handed to a new owner, the title of "Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot."

Some critics have mocked Machado after she was spotted leaving the White House with the red bag.

Machado exits the WH with a bag full of Trump shitty merchandise, and leaves behind her Nobel and her dignity. pic.twitter.com/CHk95bx2BR

— Marlene Robertson???????? (@marlene4719) January 16, 2026

"It gets even more embarrassing for Machado....she went to the White House to give Trump her medal and left with a Trump merch bag," a popular X account wrote.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton told CNN`s Kaitlan Collins Machado that leaving the White House with a gift bag was "shameful."

It was not immediately clear what was inside the bag, or whether the contents were a gift from Trump. During her conversation with Bolton, Collins noted that Trump has installed a "gift shop right outside installed right outside of the Oval Office."