**Trump has publicly declined to endorse María Corina Machado as Venezuela’s next president and has instead backed interim leader Delcy Rodríguez for stability and U.S. energy interests.** Following the January 2026 U.S. operation that captured Nicolás Maduro, Trump stated that Machado lacked sufficient domestic support or respect to lead, citing lessons from past interventions like Iraq. The administration has prioritized working with Rodríguez (Maduro’s former vice president), who has facilitated U.S. oil investments amid global price pressures, over installing opposition figures. Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, met Trump in mid-January, presented him with her medal, and expressed gratitude, prompting positive remarks from the president but no presidential endorsement. She has since announced plans to return from exile and run again by late 2026, while urging faster elections. However, U.S. officials have emphasized rebuilding and timeline flexibility over immediate polls, and no recent statements or actions indicate a shift toward backing Machado specifically for a 2026 contest. These developments—rooted in Trump’s early public assessments, the pivot to Rodríguez, and ongoing focus on pragmatic governance—underpin trader consensus that an endorsement is unlikely.