Trump reportedly spurned Venezuela leader over personal grudge about Nobel Prize

White House insiders say President Trump’s rejection of Maria Machado as Venezuela’s interim leader may have been driven less by politics than by personal spite over the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite Machado’s alignment with U.S. interests and her praise for Trump, she accepted the award last fall—a prize Trump coveted. Sources told The Washington Post that this “ultimate sin” blocked her from leadership after Maduro’s capture, with insiders claiming that had she declined the prize, she might now be Venezuela’s president. The episode highlights how personal vendettas may shape U.S. foreign interventions.

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