Venezuelan figure fawns over Trump on Fox News amid hope to become 'first woman president'

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado, who gave her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump on Thursday, told Fox News in an exclusive interview aired Friday that she firmly believed she would be elected as the “first woman president of Venezuela,” while also lavishing praise on Trump as deserving of the prestigious award.

“He deserves it,” Machado said of Trump as to why she gave up her Nobel Peace Prize. “I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela, and I told President Trump where I found the inspiration to do that.”

Machado has been championed by Republican figures as the successor to Venezuela President Nicholas Maduro after his capture by American forces earlier this month, though Trump quickly dismissed the idea, saying she didn’t have the “respect” of the Venezuelan people.

Subsequent reporting suggested Trump harbored a grudge against Machado for accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, which he had aggressively sought himself. A White House insider said earlier this month that Machado would be “president of Venezuela today” had she declined the award and backed Trump instead.

Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy asked Machado if she still wanted to be president of Venezuela, to which she excitedly said she did.

“I want to serve my country where I am more useful. I've got a mandate, and it has meant taking huge risks and paying very high costs, not only for me but also for my family and our teams,” Machado said. “And I believe I will be elected when the right time comes as president of Venezuela, the first woman president of Venezuela!”

Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee described as her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela,” though she’s drawn scrutiny for her alignment with right-leaning governments, her support for crippling U.S. sanctions on her own country, and promoting false or unverified claims such as that the Palestinian militant group Hamas operates in Venezuela.