Trump posts graphic of Venezuela as 51st U.S. state

Former White House official Larry Haas speaks about the China-U.S. trade relationship and U.S. President Trump's provocative social media post on Venezuela.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a map graphic on his Truth Social platform depicting Venezuela with an inset American flag and the label “51st State.”

The provocative post — published while Trump was en route to China for a high-stakes summit — comes a day after Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, said her country had “never” considered becoming the 51st state, even after U.S. forces captured deposed leader Nicolas Maduro in January.

Earlier on Monday, Trump told Fox News that he was considering making the South American country a new state, after months of boasting that he controlled the oil-rich nation.

Rodriguez, for her part, has overseen a thawing of relations with the United States since taking over the country, passing reforms that reopened Venezuela’s mining and oil sectors to foreign companies — especially from the U.S.

The Venezuelan opposition has demanded elections, while Rodriguez — when asked on May 1 about the prospects of a new vote — said she “didn’t know” and that it would happen “sometime.”