The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Throws Venezuela Main Opposition Leader Under the Bus

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump throwing the main Venezuela opposition Maria Corina Machado under the bus, as he instead tries to cut deals with people from Maduro’s team and all of this is taking place after Machado supported him in public. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump threw the main Venezuelan opposition leader under the bus. Viciously, he humiliated her. Maria Corino Machado, the main Venezuelan opposition leader, who many expected would take over after Maduro was captured. Donald Trump, during that press conference yesterday, said no way. He said, the people of Venezuela do not respect her. He said, she's a nice lady, but she's not. capable of leading Venezuela. Notably, whatever your thoughts are about Machado, like, let's just deal with some of the facts. While Maduro declared her ineligible to run in the July

2024 election, the person who she backed for that election, Edmundo Gonzalez, was widely believed to have actually beat Maduro by a significant margin and actually won that election by about 70% of the vote. So when Donald Trump says that she doesn't have any support in Venezuela and she can't lead Venezuela, she's a nice lady, but she doesn't know what she's doing. I mean, Donald Trump has no clue what he's talking about, but he's really throwing her under the bus. I want to get into why in a moment, but it should be noted that she did everything to get under Donald Trump's good graces. I mean, she kissed the ring, she bent the knee, she did the Mar-a-Lago humiliation ritual. When she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, she goes, I dedicate this Nobel Peace Prize to the

brave and courageous Donald Trump. And this is for you, Donald, and for all you promised to do for the people of Venezuela. Remember, she did that. She went on this humiliation ritual tour. She went on state regime media Fox. She went on Don Jr.'s podcast. And, you know, she believed that she was positioned to be the leader of Venezuela when Maduro would be taken out. But Trump said, uh-uh, no way, no how. Let's explain why and let me walk you through the humiliation withdrawal. Donald Trump doesn't want a democracy in Venezuela. He doesn't want an opposition leader who's going to open up the markets of Venezuela to other countries and have a free market and a democracy. That's not what Donald Trump wants. What Donald Trump wants is an authoritarian regime in there, but one that he controls. Trump doesn't

want other nations trading with Venezuela. Trump wants the oil for himself, and then he wants to use it as a tool in this game that he believes he's playing with Putin and Xi Jinping, where they cut up the globe and they give each other the resources that they steal from other countries in their spheres of influence. Trump's not looking for a democracy in Venezuela, so for all of the people saying, oh, Donald Trump supports democracy, he doesn't support democracy. And he had an opportunity to show if he did, but he was actually trying to cut a deal with Venezuela's VP, who was Maduro's number two, who's now the interim leader, Delci Rodriguez. And Deli Rodriguez rebuked Trump.

Trump was saying, I'm trying to do a deal with Delci, the VP. And Deli Rodriguez says there's only one true leader of Venezuela, and that's Maduro. And she said that what Trump did was not legitimate, and she's not supporting Trump. So Trump threw Machado under the bus. He tried to prop up Delsi Rodriguez. She rejected him. And others in Venezuela rejected him as well. That's the status of things as they stand right now.

So let's go through this humiliation ritual, though, of Machado. So here's when Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize, being Venezuela's main opposition leader. And here she dedicates her Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump. Here, let's play this clip. They decided to dedicate it to President Trump because he deserves it, because not only has he been involved in only a few months in solving eight wars, but his actions have been decisive to have Venezuela now at a thirst hold of freedom after 26 years of tyranny that have destroyed the lives of millions of Venezuela, destabilized religion, and undermine institutions in the United States because having Venezuela is a safe heaven of the enemies of the United States and using our territory and our resources to hurt the American people and American institutions is certainly a threat to the national security of the United States and the security of the hemisphere.

President Trump has been very clear, courageous in terms of dismantling these criminal structure And on behalf of the Venezuelan people, I reaffirmed our gratitude and our commitment to this cost for the whole America. So I insist he deserves it. Then she goes on the Don Jr. podcast. And here she talks about how, you know, we need to open Venezuela up for other countries to invest. Watch Don Jr. look at her because you can see right here, Don Jr. gives her the stare like, uh-uh, that's not what we want. We want you to give it all dust. Here, play this clip right here.

Forget about Saudi Arabia. Forget about the Saudis. I mean, we have more oil. I mean, infinite potential. And we're going to open markets. We're going to kick off the government from the oil sector. We are going to privatize all our industry. Venezuela has huge resources, oil, gas, minerals, land, technology.

And as you said before, we have a strategic location, you know, hours from the United States. So we're going to do this right. We know what we have to do. And American companies are in, you know, super strategic position to invest. This country, Venezuela, is going to be the brightest opportunity for investment of American companies, of good people that are going to make a lot of money. And then you had Machado again promise that if Trump puts her in power, this is what she previously said, that she was going to sell Venezuela's oil and gas and gold infrastructure, you know, to open up the markets. I mean, you know, she believes she was saying all the right things that she thought Trump wanted to hear from her, but not so from Donald Trump.

Here, play this clip right here. And this is amazing, super exciting for me. We will open Venezuela for four. foreign investment. I am talking about a $1.7 trillion opportunity. Not only in oil and gas, which is huge and you know that the opportunity is because we will open all upstream, middle stream, downstream to all companies, but also in mining, in gold, in infrastructure, power. We have our drift right now as a 17 gigawatt. opportunity of energy potential that needs to be rehab, certainly for technology and AI and tourism. You know, Venezuela has 2,800 kilometers of pristine Caribbean coastland ready to be developed.

So this is going to be huge. We will bring rule of law. We will open markets. We will have security for foreign investment. and a transparent, massive privatization program that is waiting for you. Now, this is when Donald Trump said, I think it will be very tough for her to be the leader. She does not have the support or respect from the country.

Here's what Trump said. Play this clip. The location of opposition leader Machado, and have you been in contact with her? No, we have it. Mr. President. Mr. President, on. on Monday.

I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. 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 to be a leader. Now, I think former Vice President Kamala Harris, in her statement, just nailed it. Here's what she said in the statement

that she just issued. She goes, Donald is what Kamala Harris says. And she sees exactly what just went down, and she describes it the same way I do. She goes, Donald Trump's actions in Venezuela do not make America safe or strong, and more and affordable. That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and wise. We've seen this movie before. Wars for regime change

or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos and American families pay the price. The American people don't want this and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It's about oil and Donald Trump's desire to play the regional strongman. If he cared about either he wouldn't pardon a convicted drug trafficker, Juan Orlando Hernandez, or, this is the key part, or sideline Venezuela's legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro's cronies. That's what I want everybody to pay attention to, and Kamala Harris nails it because that's what's going on. I'll read that in a moment, let me finish her statement. The president is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no

legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home. America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and most importantly, putting the American people first. Kamala Harris. The point in her, the partner statement I want you to focus on is where she goes sideline Venezuela's legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro's cronies. That's what Trump's been trying to do. He just wanted Maduro out to do deals with Maduro's people, keep an authoritarian regime in place, give Donald Trump the oil, and not open up the markets to anybody else. Now, Jim Scudo reports the following.

Sources in Venezuela's opposition tell me that the opposition has been in touch with governments across the world following the arrest of Nicholas Maduro. Those countries include France, Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, and Paraguay, who the opposition says expressed their support for restoring the will of the people in Venezuela.

Note the country not on the list. The opposition isn't even speaking to Trump and the United States anymore. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he spoke with Maria Carina Machado. He goes, I fully support her call for the liberation and the protection of the political prisoners of Nicholas Maduro's regime. Like all Venezuelan, she can count on France's support to raise her voice in favor of peaceful democratic transition that fully respects the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people, to which Maria Carina Machado responded to Macron. Thank you. very much, President Macron. The freedom of all political prisoners is our immediate priority.

I ask the heads of states and government and all the Democrats of the world to support us in this decisive hour. Venezuela will be free. But again, from her statement, what's missing is anything about Donald Trump. Now, let me just share this with you as well. This is from Elliot Abrams, special counsel on Venezuela in Trump's first term. And he goes, a lot of Venezuelans are going to be pretty unhappy if Trump realizes his plan to run the country. And he doesn't understand why Trump thinks Nobel Prize winner Machado is not respected enough to run Venezuela. Watch what Trump's own former envoy in the region had to say about Donald Trump. Here, play this clip. Trump administration, Elliot, good to have you. What did you make of the news conference?

A lot of surprises, not about the removal of Maduro. But the idea that the Secretary of State was speaking with Maduro's Vice President, and they hadn't talked to Maria Corrina Machado, the leader of the opposition. Then the president went on on to say that Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Prize winner, lacked the respect to run Venezuela. In fact, she and Edwondo Gonzalez got 70% in last year's election. So I don't know where that information is coming to the president from, and we're all, I think, completely up in the air about this question of running Venezuela. What does that mean? Does it mean troops? I don't think so. Does it mean opening the U.S. embassy? Sure. Does it mean cooperating? Sure. But he left it in a situation where I think

a lot of Venezuelans are going to be pretty unhappy. So that's what's going down. Just think about it, though. Machado kisses the ring, goes to Mara Lago, goes through the humiliation rituals, goes on Don Jr.'s podcast. Does everything that she thinks Trump wants. And boom, Trump says, you're weak. You're pathetic. I don't want you running it. I'm going to run it. Not you. This is why you can never kiss the gangster ring. You have to stand up to him. And I think she's seeing what happens when you, he views that as weakness what she did. And that you have to stand up to the gangster. You have to stand up to the criminal.

You have to stand up to the felon. You have to stand up to the sexual abuser. You have to. There's no other choice. It's the right thing to do. And there's no other choice. And we hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million.

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