On Thursday, January 8, 2026, Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he is expecting to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado when she arrives in the U.S. next week.
“I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” he said, while discussing his plans to meet Machado in the wake of America’s military operation in Venezuela and the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro, per the New York Post.
Trump went on to add that he is open to accepting Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize if she offers him the same. “I’ve heard that she wants to do that. That could be a great honor,” he stated.
Hannity: Do you have any plans to meet with Machado and would you accept the Nobel prize she wants to hand to you?
Trump: I understand she’s coming in the next week sometime….that would be a great honor. pic.twitter.com/0K96Bry5Zj
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 9, 2026
His comments came after Machado, who received the prize from the Norwegian Nobel Committee for her fight against “dictatorship” and dedicated it to Trump, said that she would “love” to hand over the coveted honor to the U.S. President “personally.”
“Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated to Trump because I knew at that point, he deserved it,” Machado previously told Hannity.
“And lot of people, most people said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3rd. And so, I believe he deserved it,” she said in reference to the Trump administration’s role in Maduro’s capture.
“January 3 will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny,” Machado mentioned, adding, “It’s a milestone, and it’s not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it’s a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity.”
When asked if she ever had the chance to share her Nobel Prize with Trump, Machado said, “It hasn’t happened yet, but I would certainly love to be able to personally tell him that we, the Venezuelan people — because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.”
🚨 JUST IN: Venezuelan Maria Corina Machado dedicates her Nobel Peace Prize to PRESIDENT TRUMP, even offering to SHARE it with him
“I dedicated it to Trump the second I won it! If I thought he deserved it back in October, imagine NOW after he CRUSHED Maduro!” pic.twitter.com/rkOW7yLeUL
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 6, 2026
Despite their mutual admiration, Trump did not rally behind Machado when asked whether she would be the ideal candidate to lead Venezuela after Maduro’s deposition.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump told The Post on Sunday. “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,” he added.
Machado had won the opposition primary during the 2024 presidential elections in Venezuela. However, the Maduro government allegedly barred her from running. She has since been living in hiding under Maduro’s regime.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was named the interim president of the nation in Maduro’s absence. Machado opened up about her issues with Rodriguez’s leadership and said she would embrace the chance to run in a free election.
“Certainly, we believe that this transition should move forward. Delcy Rodríguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco-trafficking,” she alleged.
“She’s a main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual that could be, you know, trusted by international investors, and she’s really rejected… by the Venezuelan people,” Machado claimed.
“So we will move forward. And, as you mentioned, and we won an election by a landslide under fraudulent conditions. In free and fair elections, we will win with over 90 percent of the votes. I have no doubt about it,” she stated.
On the other hand, Trump announced that the U.S. would “run” the country until there was a “safe, proper, and judicious transition.” He also warned that if Rodríguez fails to meet the demands of the administration, she would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
