White House insiders revealed Sunday night that a major element of the United States’ hostile takeover of Venezuela may have been motivated entirely by a personal grudge held by President Donald Trump over what he’s characterized as a snub for a prestigious award.
In the wake of the unprecedented U.S. attack on and takeover of Venezuela Saturday, Trump took some conservative figures by surprise after rejecting the idea of Venezuelan politician Maria Machado leading the country in the absence of President Nicholas Maduro, who was kidnapped and taken to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges.
A leader of the opposition party in Venezuela, Machado has been celebrated by conservative figures as the clear successor to Maduro, but on Saturday Trump dismissed the idea and argued that she “doesn’t have the support or respect within the country.” Despite his public comments, however, Trump’s actual motivation was far more petty, two White House insiders revealed to The Washington Post Sunday night.
“Two people close to the White House said the president’s lack of interest in boosting Machado, despite her recent efforts to flatter Trump, stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the president has openly coveted,” a report from the Post reads.
“Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an ‘ultimate sin,’ said one of the people.”
Trump lobbied hard for the Nobel Peace Prize last fall, but ultimately lost out to Machado, who was given the prestigious award in October. While Machado has championed the Trump administration for its deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean and its military threats against her own nation, one of the White House insiders said her acceptance of the award was a bridge too far for Trump.
“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,” the insider told the Post.
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.” She’s drawn scrutiny, however, for her alignment with right-leaning governments, her support for U.S. sanctions on her own country, and promoting false or unverified claims, including assertions that the Palestinian militant group Hamas operates in the country.