In the aftermath of a dramatic U.S. operation that led to the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro, President Donald Trump is signaling that political campaigns and ballots are not his immediate concern for the crisis-hit nation.
According to the New York Post, instead, Trump says Venezuela must first be stabilized, rebuilt, and brought back under firm governance before elections can mean anything at all.
Speaking with The Post on Sunday, Trump framed Venezuela as a country hollowed out by years of mismanagement, where economic collapse and insecurity have eclipsed democratic processes. In his view, restoring structure must come before choosing new leaders.
Trump dismissed the idea that any current opposition figure has the broad backing needed to govern, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado. Asked directly about her political prospects, he was blunt.
“I don’t think she’s got the support of the people that she has to have,” Trump said. “That’s all.”
When pressed on whether he would support Machado if she were to win an election, the president again downplayed the importance of elections under present conditions.
“We should run the country properly,” Trump said.
Referring to Machado, Trump added, “She could only win an election if I did support her. But I like her very much.”
For Trump, the issue is not personalities but priorities. He repeatedly stressed that Venezuela’s immediate needs are order and economic discipline, particularly given its natural resources.
“We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have, which is valuable oil and valuable other things.”
He returned to the same point again, underscoring the message: “She could only win an election if I did support her. But I like her very much.”
Trump painted a bleak picture of the nation’s condition after what he described as decades of socialist plunder.
“The country is ready to be — it’s literally become a third-world country ready to fail,” he said.
Rather than rushing toward the polls, Trump argued that stabilizing Venezuela would ultimately benefit both Caracas and Washington.
That confidence extended to the U.S. military operation itself, which Trump described as a flawless success carried out with precision and restraint.
“It was a great victory. We took care of business. We had nobody killed, a couple of guys wounded. We lost no helicopters or jets or planes,” he said. “We had a complete and total victory — that’s the way it should be.”
He emphasized the inherent risks involved.
“You know, you go into these things, you don’t know if 50 people are going to die or not. And we lost nobody,” Trump said. “Some people were wounded — helicopter pilots got wounded, a couple of them were hit.”
“They kept that chopper flying. I mean, they were bleeding badly. They were very brave,” he added.
Asked about reports that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez may be arming supporters and resisting U.S. pressure, Trump appeared unconcerned.
“I don’t get concerned about things,” he said.
As for what comes next, Trump made clear that Venezuela’s political future is not off the table — just postponed.
“Maybe [Machado] should run. Maybe somebody else should run,” he said. “But first, we have to run the country right.”
