On Saturday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” President Donald Trump stated that we’re deciding who will be in power in Venezuela now that Maduro is gone and what’s next for Venezuela and “We’ll be involved in it very much.”
Co-host Nicole Saphier asked, [relevant exchange begins around 11:25] “Moving forward for Venezuela, what do you think is next for the Venezuelan people now that you have removed Maduro so that he can face American justice?”
Trump responded, “Well, we’re making that decision now. We can’t take a chance on letting somebody else run it and just take over where he left — or left off, so we’re making that decision now. We’ll be involved in it very much. And we want to do liberty for the people. We want to have a great relationship. I think the people of Venezuela are very, very happy, because they love the United States.”
He added that things won’t be good for those who remain loyal to Maduro in Venezuela, but he doesn’t think Maduro has many loyalists left in the country.
Later, co-host Griff Jenkins asked, “[W]ill you, Mr. President, throw your support behind opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who, as you recall, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and, then, in turn, dedicated it to you for your efforts in pressuring Maduro? Are you going to fully support her to take over to run the country?”
Trump answered, “Well, we’re going to have to look at it. Right now, they have a vice president…I don’t know about what kind of an election that was. But the election of Maduro was a disgrace.”
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