Drawing on Past Lessons, Trump Explains Support for Dalcy Rodriguez in Venezuela

President Donald Trump drew on past lessons of the U.S. presidency as he explained his support for the acting Venezuelan President, Delcy Rodriguez, over the country’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado.

During an impromptu press conference on Friday outside the White House, a reporter asked the president, "Why align with Delcy Rodríguez and the residents of the former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro regime and not with Machado?” who the reporter said has the “support of the Venezuelan people.”

In his response, President Trump reflected on when the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003, and every single part of Hussein’s Ba’athist regime was ousted, leading to a vacuum which was eventually filled by the terrorist organization ISIS.

“Well, if you ever remember a place called Iraq, where everybody was fired — every single person, the police, the generals, everybody was fired — and they ended up being ISIS,” Trump replied. “Instead of just getting down to business. They ended up being ISIS.”

“So, I remember that,” he added. “But I’ll tell you I had a great meeting yesterday by a person (Machado) who I have a lot of respect for. And she has respect obviously for me and our country.”

“And she (Machado) gave me her Nobel Prize,” Trump continued. “But I’ll tell you what. I got to know her. I never met her before. And I was very, very impressed. She’s a really, this is a fine woman.”

Seems smart to remember this, in my opinion, so we possibly avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

SEE: U.S. Embassy in Venezuela Issuing Red Alert for Americans at Risk From Roving Pro-Maduro 'Militias'

From Peril to Peace Prize: Maria Machado's Rescue by American Heroes

On Thursday, President Trump welcomed Machado to the White House, and she gave him the Nobel Peace Prize she received last year, as my RedState colleague Nick Arama reported.

At the time, Machado made it clear she would accept it but thought the Nobel Peace Prize Committee should’ve given the award to Trump for his work securing peace in the world.

So, that’s exactly what she did on her first meeting with him.

President Donald J. Trump meets with María Corina Machado of Venezuela in the Oval Office, during which she presented the President with her Nobel Peace Prize in recognition and honor.🕊️
pic.twitter.com/v7pYHjVNVO— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 16, 2026

“Because he deserves it,” Machado told “Fox & Friends” during an interview that aired Friday morning. “And, um, it was a very emotional moment.”
Machado, 58, added that she had presented Trump, 79, with the medal in a frame “on behalf of the people of Venezuela” following the Jan. 3 arrest of socialist authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro on federal drug and weapons charges in a daring US special forces raid on Caracas.

As RedState readers know, earlier this month, American military forces removed Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the country and brought them to the U.S. to await trial.

However, only time will tell if it was the correct move backing Rodriguez, Maduro's second in command, over Machado.

If you ever remember a place called Iraq, where everybody was fired — every single person, the police, the generals, everybody was fired — and they ended up being ISIS... I remember that."

Here the president by way of explanation tells us what did not work in Iraq but not what will work in Venezuela.

Moreover, our mission in Iraq went beyond merely arresting Saddam Hussein, mission creep extended to nation building. But in Venezuela our mission is, by Trump's own statements, not limited to merely arresting Maduro, it includes acquiring oil, minerals, stopping drugs and foreclosing Chinese and Russian mischief.

So when the president tells us what will not work, he doesn't tell us what will work nor how he is going to achieve the mission. He does not tell us why the danger of Mission creep in Venezuela is any less likely than it was in Iraq.

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