Maria Corina Machado Archives

A Little Nobel Palm Oil

January 15, 2026 Buck Banks

Maria Corina Machado came to meet Trump, smiling like a bride,
She came to convince “Acting Presidente” to back her Venezuela side.
She slipped him her Nobel,
So the meeting went well,
Though Trump, Machado and you and me know it was just a stinking bribe.

Most Venezuelans Want Machado to Govern

January 14, 2026 Buck Banks

51.6%

A new AtlasIntel poll finds a majority of Venezuelans want María Corina Machado to lead their country, contradicting Donald Trump’s claim that the opposition leader doesn’t have the support to rule. More than half of Venezuelans living in their homeland — 51.6% — say Machado should take over, compared with 14% who endorse Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the presidency this month following Trump’s military intervention.

The Profound Pettiness of Our President

January 6, 2026 Buck Banks

“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.”

— A person close to the White House, quoted by the Washington Post, saying Trump is refusing to support Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado because she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tag: Maria Corina Machado

A Little Nobel Palm Oil

Most Venezuelans Want Machado to Govern

51.6%

The Profound Pettiness of Our President

“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.”

— A person close to the White House, quoted by the Washington Post, saying Trump is refusing to support Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado because she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“They’ve invested heavily in AI labs. They’ve invested heavily in data centers. So, the first family has a financial stake in this industry, and as a result, the president of the United States is compromised.”

— “Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Monday said President Trump will likely not heed calls from technology leaders to implement guardrails on the development of artificial intelligence because of his family’s investments in the industry,” NewsNation reports.

— Jane Haman

“We’re working through some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the end state. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards.”

— Jared Kushner, quoted by CBS News, on the lack of progress in Gaza.

Numerati

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.

$184 million

50%

38%

31%