President Donald Trump doubled down on his comment that he's "seriously considering" making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state, posting a map of the oil-rich country with an American flag.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, May 12, as Trump was en route to China for a high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping, the president posted a map of Venezuela with an inset American flag and the caption “51st State.” The White House also shared a screenshot of Trump's post on X.
Trump’s post came roughly 24 hours after he told Fox News correspondent John Roberts on Monday, May 11, that he was now “seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state.”
But Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez told reporters on Monday that her country had no plans of being annexed by the United States, according to the Associated Press.
“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” Rodríguez said at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, adding that Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country."
