This was one of those interviews where you could see the frustration building in real time from the moment it kicked off.
Last night, CNN’s Erin Burnett — who has spent years attacking President Trump from behind the anchor desk — clearly thought she had the perfect setup when she brought up Trump’s comments about Venezuela potentially becoming the “51st state.”
Twice, she tried to steer Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado into attacking Trump over the comments in just a matter of minutes.
Twice, Machado completely shut down the trap and turned the conversation back toward Venezuela’s alliance with the United States, defeating communism, and the broader fight for democracy in South America.
Burnett opened with a long-winded setup about Trump’s comments, framing them as something Machado should supposedly find offensive or alarming.
BURNETT: “But Trump keeps talking about Venezuela as the 51st state. I just mentioned that social media post that he posted with the 51st state and the map of Venezuela.”
“He also talked about this in detail earlier this week to a Fox News reporter who was really a bit taken aback by it.”
“How do you even respond to that?”
Machado didn’t hesitate at all.
Instead of taking the bait into ridiculing President Trump, she leaned the other direction entirely and spoke positively about both Venezuela and the relationship she believes the country could have with the United States in the future.
MACHADO: “Well, I know President Trump really likes Venezuela and for good reasons. It is a beautiful country. But most of all of wonderful people.”
“But I’m sure he’s going to love it even better when we have a country that is free, prosperous, and democratic, and turns into the strongest ally in the Americas…”
“And look, Erin, from every perspective for the American people and for the Venezuelan people, a transition to democracy is a win-win solution…”
You could almost feel the interview slipping away from Burnett at that point.
Most CNN interviews built around Trump follow a pretty predictable script, especially when a foreign leader or opposition figure is involved.
The expectation is usually that the guest will validate the framing, condemn Trump, and help generate the headline the network wants.
But Machado clearly wasn’t interested in playing that role.
A few moments later, Burnett tried again anyway, this time getting even more direct and repeating Trump’s comments almost word-for-word in an effort to force Machado into rejecting them publicly.
The vitriol directed at the president by Burnett was palpable. She could hardly get the words out as she stuttered, ‘But Trump!’
BURNETT: “But when…when…when trump said to the Fox News reporter; ‘I’m very serious about this. So you can talk about this. I’m serious about beginning a process to make Venezuela the 51st state.’”
“You do not take him seriously?”
Once again, Machado refused to take the bait.
Instead of criticizing Trump, she told Burnett that the president’s overture about making Venezuela the 51st state is actually a direct message sent to the Chavismo regime that the United States is in charge.
MACHADO: “Well, I think he’s sending a message to many people and certainly to the regime.”
“I mean, we, the Venezuelan people value, appreciate, share the values of the American people.”
Machado then pivoted back to the bigger geopolitical picture and started talking about the collapse of communist influence across Latin America if Venezuela were freed from the current regime.
“We are decisive to be a strong ally…and in terms of legacy, imagine what this will mean for the for the U.S. government and for your country, Erin, for the first time, we will have, once we move towards democracy and Venezuela is free, Cuba will follow, Nicaragua will follow.”
“We will have for the first time in the history of this continent, the Americans, free of communism and dictatorship.”
“This is huge!”
At that point, the interview was basically cooked.
Burnett had gone fishing for an anti-Trump soundbite twice and came up empty both times.
Machado never gave CNN the outrage moment they were clearly hoping for. Instead, she turned the entire discussion into a message about freedom, anti-communism, and alliance with the United States.
The look on Burnett’s face said everything.
She realized pretty quickly that Machado was not going to play along with the narrative she was trying to build, and hastily ended the interview.
However, it was far too late. Everyone had just witnessed a trouncing live on CNN.
