President Donald Trump gave a soft endorsement of acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday, telling reporters that former dictator Nicolas Maduro’s replacement appears to be an “ally” of the United States after years of hostility from Venezuela’s government.
Many have criticized Trump’s decision to allow Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, to take over following last Saturday’s raid on Caracas, rather than exiled opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. And Trump’s early decision to back her was predicated on her taking a friendlier posture toward his administration and its interest in Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Still, speaking at a White House meeting with American oil executives Friday evening, the president gave no indication that he was losing confidence and even portrayed her as someone who was broadly cooperative. Venezuela has begun to release political prisoners as a “peace” gesture and agreed to turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil.
“They seem to be an ally, and I think it will continue to be an ally,” he stated when asked to assess the interim government.
Throughout the meeting, Trump repeatedly defended his decision to capture Maduro, arguing that failing to do so would have allowed both China and Russia to increase their footprint in the oil-rich country.
“We don’t want to have Russia there. We don’t want to have China there. And by the way, we don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland,” he continued. “If we don’t take Greenland. You’re going to have Russia or China as your next-door neighbor. That’s not going to happen.”
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Machado is slated to visit Trump at the White House early next week. She has hinted that she may award the president with her Nobel Peace Prize, which she earned in 2025 for leading the movement against the Maduro regime.
Reporters asked Trump on Friday if, should Machado actually give him her peace prize next week, he would allow her to take over the government, to which the president expressed some degree of openness.
“Well, I have to speak to her — I’m going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it,” he responded. “I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in.”
During the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the administration’s nebulous three-phase plan for Venezuela but did not say when new elections in the country would be held. Rubio stated that, before a transition could occur, the country would first need to be stabilized, and a “reconciliation” between the country’s various power players would need to take place.
Later in the meeting, a reporter asked Trump if he was more focused on bringing “stability” or “democracy” to Venezuela, to which he gave another vague answer.
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“You’re talking about stability or democracy? I don’t know, to me it’s almost the same thing,” he stated. “We want stability, but we do want democracy. Ultimately, it will be democracy.”
Watch Trump’s comments in full: