Trump administration officials have consistently prioritized stability under interim President Delcy Rodríguez since the January 2026 U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro, explicitly sidelining María Corina Machado despite her opposition leadership and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Public statements from President Trump have questioned Machado’s domestic support and respect within Venezuela, while recent tensions escalated in June 2026 when the White House rejected her requests to return amid earthquake recovery efforts, labeling them a distraction. Machado remains in exile, has reaffirmed alignment with U.S. policy goals including oil-sector cooperation, and has signaled readiness to run in any future election, yet the administration has shown no movement toward endorsing her candidacy. These factors underpin the strong trader consensus against a Trump endorsement occurring in 2026.