It’s not every day that a newly minted international prize sparks as much laughter as controversy, but that’s exactly what happened after President Donald Trump received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. The scene unfolded on December 5, 2025, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., during the World Cup final draw, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Trump with the organization’s first-ever Peace Prize—a trophy of golden hands holding a soccer ball, along with a gleaming medal. Trump, never one to shy away from the spotlight, promptly placed the medal around his own neck, wearing it with pride before a global audience.
But if you thought the story would end there, you’d be mistaken. In the days that followed, the award became fodder for comedians, political commentators, and talk show hosts, each offering their own take on the significance—and legitimacy—of the honor. According to Fox News, Ana Navarro, co-host of ABC’s “The View” and a frequent Trump critic, wasted no time lampooning the event. On the December 8 episode, she handed out fake plastic gold medals to her fellow panelists, quipping, “You get a medal! And you get a medal! And you get a medal! And I get a medal!”—a playful nod to Oprah Winfrey’s iconic giveaway catchphrase. The audience roared as Navarro mocked the rationale behind FIFA’s decision, suggesting that the football association needed Trump’s cooperation to ensure smooth visa processes for the upcoming World Cup, which the U.S., Mexico, and Canada will jointly host.
Navarro didn’t stop there. She speculated that FIFA’s leadership had learned the art of currying favor with Trump through flattery and gifts, saying, “If you show up with a tchotchke, preferably covered in gold, and give it to the three-year-old in the Oval Office, he will be entertained and he will be happy.” Her co-host Sunny Hostin chimed in, dismissing the FIFA award as “made-up” and suggesting Trump’s real motivation was jealousy over former President Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize. “I don’t think he’s going to get the Nobel Peace Prize, I don’t think he’s worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, quite frankly. This is a made-up award for him, this FIFA award,” Hostin remarked, according to Fox News.
The skepticism wasn’t limited to “The View.” On December 9, Jon Stewart took to “The Daily Show” with his signature blend of satire and sharp critique. Stewart feigned astonishment at the award, joking, “Oh, my God! He won the prize specifically created to appease him. The FIFA Appease Prize.” He went on to mock the design of the trophy, which depicted a globe held aloft by several hands. Stewart quipped that the design reflected “how it was conceived,” launching into a comedic impression of FIFA employees brainstorming ways to satisfy Trump’s ego. “Trump is so needy. It’s like the world always has to reach out and stroke his balls,” Stewart joked, miming the act for his audience. He summed up the trophy as an “entirely fictitious golden butt plug,” a line that drew both laughter and headlines, as reported by The Daily Beast.
Stewart’s critique didn’t stop at the optics of the ceremony. He highlighted the contradiction between Trump’s receipt of a peace prize and the administration’s simultaneous threats of military action against Venezuela. “The brink of war? President Trump, did this meaningless award mean nothing to you?” Stewart asked rhetorically, underscoring the jarring disconnect between the award’s intent and the realities of U.S. foreign policy at the time. Stewart argued that America’s foreign policy under Trump had shifted from promoting stable democracies to focusing on spheres of influence, likening the global order to “one of the five crime families, splitting up the territories.”
Despite the mockery, the White House stood by the award and its recipient. When approached by The Independent, spokesperson Davis Ingle defended Trump’s record, stating, “President Trump’s Peace through Strength foreign policy is a tried-and-true approach that keeps America safe and deters global threats that has already ended eight wars in less than a year. There is no one else in the world more deserving of FIFA’s first ever Peace Prize than President Trump. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
FIFA, for its part, maintained that the Peace Prize was created to “reward individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.” At the award ceremony, Infantino praised Trump as a “dynamic leader who has engaged in diplomatic efforts that created opportunities for dialogue, de-escalation and stability.” He told Trump, “You can always count, Mr. President, on my support and the entire football community, to help you make peace ... all over the world.” FIFA said the award was presented on behalf of more than five billion soccer fans worldwide, further emphasizing its intent to recognize Trump’s “championing of the unifying power of football on the world stage.”
Still, many observers—both supporters and critics—couldn’t help but notice the timing and optics of the award. Trump had spent months campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize and even renamed the Institute of Peace to the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace. Yet, in October, the Nobel went to Venezuelan political activist Maria Corina Machado, not Trump. For some, the FIFA Peace Prize seemed like a consolation, hastily created to fill the void. Alyssa Farah Griffin, another “The View” co-host and former Trump aide, noted, “President Trump right now is focused heavily on his legacy. He wants to make sure that the history books can’t dismiss him as a fluke.” She added, “That’s why you hear him talking a lot about the Nobel Peace Prize,” underscoring the political and personal stakes involved.
For Trump’s base, however, the award was a validation of his foreign policy and leadership. Griffin observed, “What I keep hearing from his voters, people who count themselves as ‘America first voters,’ is it seems like he’s more distracted by what’s happening around the world and not delivering back home. And that is what will mark his legacy.” This tension between international recognition and domestic priorities continues to shape the conversation about Trump’s place in history.
In the end, the FIFA Peace Prize may go down as one of the more peculiar chapters in the annals of presidential honors—a golden trophy and medal, celebrated by some, derided by others, and immortalized in late-night comedy. Whether it was a genuine gesture of gratitude or, as Jon Stewart put it, an “appease prize,” the spectacle has ensured that Trump’s latest accolade will not soon be forgotten.
