Opinion: Trump echoes Putin on Venezuela — and contradicts his own secretary of state
By Aaron Blake Aaron Blake Senior political reporter, writing for The Fix Email Bio Follow May 3 at 5:45 PM There has been a long-emerging pattern in Donald Trump’s presidency: He talks to an authoritarian leader, and then he says or does something they like. Sometimes, this has had far-reaching consequences for U.S. foreign policy, as it did when Trump announced a quick withdrawal from Syria. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned over that one.
SHAPIRO: Can you explain to folks how deep the intervention of the Russians and Cubans is in Venezuela right now? They are deep. They’ve controlled the economy; they have looted the nation. They’ve demanded that Venezuela provide to Cuba essentially discount oil for years and years, harming the Venezuelan people. The Cubans have been there and are deeply embedded, have been for years, and the Russians have been there as well, largely protecting their economic interests.
It makes you wonder: Does Trump have any idea what’s going on in Venezuela? Does he talk to Pompeo about it? Trump’s comments are completely opposite to how the rest of the U.S. government has talked about Russia’s involvement in Venezuela. And yet Trump seemed to simply take Putin’s word for it and then align himself with Putin’s talking points. Even just from a public-relations standpoint, it was a coup for Putin.
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