Can't Python be translated into machine code

Yes, and that's basically what the CPython interpreter does when you call a Python script. It sometimes even leaves the result laying in your filesystem, with the extension .pyc . This is the byte code (aka machine code) for CPython's implementation of the Python Virtual Machine (PVM).

and packaged into a binary?

Almost. The .pyc file is meant to run with the appropriate PVM, not for x86 or ARM64, for example. But if you did copy that .pyc to another computer that has a CPython PVM, then you can run that byte code and the Python code should work.

To create an actual x86 or ARM64 binary, you might use a Python compiler like cython, which compiles to x86 or ARM64 by first translating to C, and then compiling that. The result is a very inefficient and slow binary, but it is functional. You probably shouldn't do this though.

Like Java, you can distribute a binary which bundles an interpreter/VM, but your code is still running inside a host OS.