President Donald Trump joked that he might run for president of Venezuela, claiming he polls higher than any other politician in the South American country.
Trump made those remarks during a Monday press conference centered on the rescue mission of an Air Force officer who had gone missing after a fighter jet was shot down over Iran.
“The people of Venezuela, they say, if I ran for president of Venezuela, I’m polling higher than anybody has ever polled in Venezuela, so after I’m finished with this, I can go to Venezuela,” Trump said. “I will quickly learn Spanish. It won’t take too long. I’m good at language and I will go to Venezuela. I’m going to run for president. But we’re very happy with the president-elect that we have right now.”
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Trump mentioned Venezuela on several occasions during the press conference. He compared the Easter weekend rescue mission’s success to the Pentagon’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He also suggested that the outcome in Iran would be similar to Venezuela. He described the conflict with Venezuela as being “over in 45 minutes,” and boasted that the United States has now taken hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from the country.
During a cabinet meeting late last month, Trump joked that he “may run” for president against acting President Delcy Rodriguez, whom he installed as the leader after Maduro was captured.
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“The people — actually, I’m the highest polling person. In other words, after the presidency, I think I may go to Venezuela and run for president,” Trump said.
Trump described the prospect as a “wonderful option” for him.
While Trump boasted his “good” language skills at Monday’s press conference, last month he told Latin American leaders at the inaugural Shield of the Americas Summit that he would not learn a new language.
During his address, Trump praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who, as the son of Cuban immigrants, speaks fluent Spanish.
“He’s got a language advantage over me, ‘cause I’m not learning your damn language,” Trump said. “I don’t have time. I was okay with languages but I’m not gonna spend time learning your language. That much I won’t do.”
