WASHINGTON – María Corina Machado says she told Donald Trump during a private White House luncheon that her party had a mandate from the Venezuelan people to lead and was prepared to do what it took to form a legitimate government − while gifting the president her Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking, a day after that meeting, at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative organization with close ties to the Trump administration, Machado cast herself as just one member of the freedom movement in Venezuela.
"This is not about me, this is about the will of the people," she said.
More: Trump will keep Machado's Nobel Peace Prize: 'She offered it to me'
Machado said she had "no doubt" the U.S. president backs freedom and democracy in Venezuela, and she argued her opposition party was best suited to deliver for U.S. interests. In an appeal to conservatives and Trump supporters, she said a transition to a democratic government would lead exiled Venezuelans to return home and declared that the women in her country are not interested in receiving a handout.
