Donald Trump has claimed the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize told him he “really deserved it”.

Supporters of the US president reacted angrily after the Nobel committee gave the award to Venezuelan democracy campaigner María Corina Machado.

White House director of communications Steven Cheung said they had “placed politics over peace”.

Trump has mounted a less-than-subtle campaign to receive the award.

Reacting to the decision on Friday, Trump claimed to have ended “a total of eight” wars since being re-elected president, including the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas.

He added: “The person who actually got the Nobel prize called me and said ‘I’m accepting this in honour of you because you really deserved it.’ A very nice thing to do.

“I didn’t say ‘then give it to

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