Donald Trump’s reason for not wanting María Corina Machado as the Venezuelan President is as immature as it gets
Donald Trump might be involved in some serious matters, like illegally infiltrating and kidnapping foreign leaders, but he is ensuring that he keeps his inner child alive. The one that mindlessly talks, lies, and cries when he doesn’t get the specific flavoured lollipop he wants.
After Donald Trump took Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro captive on January 3, 2026, it was generally believed that María Corina Machado, the opposition leader to Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, would assume his position. The idea of Machado succeeding Maduro was seen as more likely because she has been flattering Donald Trump for quite some time. Recently, while appearing on a news channel, Machado gave the impression that she supported the United States using Venezuela’s oil reserves for extraction, which is a significant concern for Trump, who has openly expressed his intentions to do the same. Thus, when Trump mentioned during a press conference on Saturday that it would be “difficult” for Machado to lead due to her lack of “support” and “respect” in the country, many were taken aback.
Now, reports are emerging saying that Trump’s reluctance to endorse María Corina Machado might be a bit more personal than he would like to admit. It seems that Machado has unknowingly struck a nerve with President Trump from which he is struggling to recover. This nerve is related to the Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump has long aspired to win, especially after claiming to have stopped eight wars. (Which never really happened). On January 5, 2026, The Daily Beast and other news outlets reported that, according to information received by the Washington Post from two people “close to the White House,” Trump wasn’t too keen on appointing Machado as the president of Venezuela because she had committed the “ultimate sin” of hurting his ego by accepting the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her in 2025 for her “efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela.” They claimed that had she refused to accept the prize as a protest against Trump not winning it, her chances of becoming president would have increased. The Washington Post’s sources indicated:
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today”
This revelation has rightfully garnered a range of reactions from people, especially those online. Most of them cannot believe how ridiculous Trump is behaving in this aspect, while others aren’t too surprised by his conduct.
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