President Trump again ruled out opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for the position of ruler of Venezuela, despite the fact that she presented him with her Nobel Prize.
White House occupant Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented him with the Nobel Peace Prize medal during a private meeting at the White House.
“Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. A wonderful gesture of respect. Thank you, Maria!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Similarly, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, when asked whether Trump had changed his stance on the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, cautioned that the president’s assessment “was a realistic one, based on what the president was reading and hearing from his advisors and his national security team.”
“At this time, her opinion on that matter has not changed,” the spokeswoman concluded at a press conference.
The Venezuelan opposition leader, who entered the US executive residence through a side door instead of the main entrance, reserved for heads of state and high dignitaries, has failed to change Trump’s mind despite flattering him and even presenting him with the Nobel medal, in a challenge to the Nobel Committee that made it clear that although the medal can change ownership, the title of laureate cannot be transferred.
Trump believes that Machado does not have political support in Venezuela and, instead, has opted for the Chavista vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power as acting president under Washington’s backing.
Indeed, after US forces kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, Trump said that the opposition leader was “a very nice woman, but she does not have enough respect or support in the country.”
taking bootlicking to a whole new qualitative level.
