Machado Says She Presented Trump With Nobel Medal
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is welcomed as she arrives for meetings at the office of Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump hosted Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, in a private meeting that highlighted ongoing uncertainty about U.S. policy toward Venezuela’s leadership transition. Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate once viewed by many as Venezuela’s future leader, spent roughly two and a half hours with Trump in a closed‑door session that featured no public photo opportunities or official White House briefing afterward.
As she emerged to greet a small group of supporters outside, Machado told the crowd that “we count on President Trump’s support for Venezuela’s liberty.”
Despite her optimistic remarks, public signals suggest Trump has shifted his backing toward Delcy Rodríguez, who is now serving as acting president of Venezuela after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Rodríguez was Maduro’s vice president and has since been described positively by Trump in public comments.
Earlier in the week, Trump held his first known direct phone call with Rodríguez, calling her “a terrific person.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Machado as “remarkable and brave” but made clear that the president’s view that she lacks what he sees as the necessary backing to lead Venezuela “has not changed.” Leavitt highlighted Rodríguez’s role in helping secure a significant energy deal and the release of U.S. prisoners, saying Trump is “pleased with the job Rodríguez is doing.” When asked what Trump hoped to hear from Machado, Leavitt said flatly, “I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado.”
In a striking moment following their meeting, Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, a symbolic gesture she said honored his support of Venezuela’s democratic movement. Trump thanked her in a social media post, calling Machado a “wonderful woman” and describing the presentation of the medal as “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
The Nobel Institute has stressed that the prize cannot be transferred or shared, reinforcing that ownership of the medal does not make Trump a Nobel laureate.
For Machado, the White House visit appears aimed at regaining influence in Washington as U.S. forces seize sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers and Trump pushes Caracas to open its oil sector to American companies. The optics also underscored the deep confusion around Venezuela’s transition, with rival supporters rallying outside the White House — some thanking Trump, others warning that Rodríguez is “the same as Maduro.”
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