Overview
- Joe Scarborough said he spoke with the president for about 20 minutes after the Delta Force mission that seized Nicolás Maduro, and that Trump hailed the raid as flawless and a signal of U.S. strength to Putin, Xi and Iran.
- When Scarborough pressed comparisons to the Iraq occupation, he quoted Trump saying, “Bush didn’t keep the oil; we’re going to keep the oil,” noting the president put the comment on the record.
- Trump has also told reporters he wants U.S. oil companies to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure to “get the oil flowing the way it should be.”
- MS NOW legal analyst Lisa Rubin said the president’s statements could be used by defense attorney Barry Pollack to argue the operation was pretextual, challenge the abduction’s legality, and seek dismissal.
- Maduro and Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty in New York on drug and weapons charges, while Delcy Rodríguez serves as acting president in Caracas after initially denouncing the raid and later calling for peace and cooperation.