Trump says Machado doesn’t have 'support' and 'respect' to govern

US President Donald Trump admitted that the ousted opposition leader and the Nobel Prize winner Maria Corina Machado doesn't have the "support" and "respect" to govern the Venezuelan nation. This comes after a year of the Western media and journalists rallying around Maria Corina Machado and her candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, who was supposedly the “rightful” winner. According to them, Nicolas Maduro has allegedly stolen the election.

Even though there were political divisions within Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution. But it did not constitute an overwhelming majority. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council said that the opposition party, months ahead of the election, started to claim that they would not accept the results. In fact, independent US media, Peoples Forum, Peoples Dispatch and Real News Network, have reported that claims by the US corporate media about a rigged 2024 Venezuelan election were circulated just hours after the polls closed. It cites more than 800 international election observers on the ground, which paints a very different picture.

On January 3, 2026, the US conducted a military operation in Venezuela and abducted Nicolas Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores. Soon, when enquired about Maria Corina Machado as the potential leader. Trump responded, "I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect."

Machado had become an international figure following the election and the riot that ensued after the result. She continued her campaign within the international community, leaving out the impact of US sanctions, the multiple US-backed coup attempts in Venezuela since 2002.

Most of the Liberal and Conservative US Media, from ABC News, CNN, to Fox News, united in support of Machado. A report from the Washington Post claimed that Trump opposes Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado leading the country because she won the Nobel Peace Prize that he so desperately wanted. In an interview with NBC News, Trump said that it was not the case. She legitimately lacks support among Venezuelans.