When Trump's state secretary Rubio called 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado ‘Iron Lady’
With Maria Corina Machado's win and snub to Donald Trump, Marco Rubio’s comments about the Venezuelan democracy activist have again come to the forefront
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 on Friday, with US President Donald Trump missing out on the award despite the last-minute push from several political quarters around the world.
With her win and snub to Donald Trump, Team Trump member and US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s comments about the Venezuelan democracy activist have again come to the forefront. It becomes especially relevant since the White House called her win “politics over peace.”
Back in May, Rubio talked about Machado, calling her the “Venezuelan Iron Lady.” Endorsing her for Time magazine’s Most Influential People list for 2025, Trump's secretary of state said that she was “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”
“María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan Iron Lady, is the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism. Undeterred by formidable challenges, María Corina has never backed down from her mission of fighting for a free, fair, and democratic Venezuela. Machado’s guiding principle has remained the same since I first met her over a decade ago—to leave for her children Ana Corina, Ricardo, Henrique, and the children of Venezuela, a country free of tyranny,” Marco Rubio wrote for Time in April this year.
“The phrase “hasta el final” encapsulates her enduring legacy. Over the past year, her resolve has faced unprecedented challenges as she has bravely confronted the Maduro regime’s efforts to undermine the will of the Venezuelan people,” he had said.
“A woman of faith who valiantly marches the streets of her homeland armed with the holy rosary and supported by countless courageous Venezuelans, Machado has stood firm against it all, defending the land of Bolívar. Her principled leadership is a beacon of hope, making our region and our world a better place,” Rubio added.
Why did Donald Trump not win the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize?
Donald Trump had claimed several times that he “deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize. His claim was backed by several top leaders in the US, including secretary of state Marco Rubio. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that the Nobel Peace Prize should be given to Trump as he “deserves it”. Pakistan and even Russia endorsed Trump's claim on the award.
But Trump did not win the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize mainly because all the nominations made in his name came after the cutoff date. The nominations for consideration for this year's award were to be made before February 1.
When asked about the snub to Trump despite his claims and support from some countries, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, said that the decision is based “only on the work and will of Alfred Nobel”.
“In the long history of the Nobel Peace Prize, I think this committee has seen any type of campaigns, media attention. We receive thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them leads to peace. This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So, we base our decision only on the work and will of Alfred Nobel,” Frydnes said in a press conference after the announcement.
