AXIOS: Trump would consider meeting with Maduro

In an interview with Axios, Donald Trump expressed an openness to meeting with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and admitted to having second thoughts about his recognition of Juan Guaidó as Venezuelan Interim President.

The news comes after recent revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton about how Donald Trump’s failed and inconsistent strategy toward Venezuela was just a rhetorical ploy to win Florida, and Bolton claimed he has no intention of removing dictator Maduro from power.

“As the humanitarian crisis continues to escalate in Venezuela, Trump once again fails the Venezuelan people, expressing an openness to meeting with dictator Nicolás Maduro. As Venezuelans like myself watch Maduro increasingly cling to power because of Donald Trump’s erratic and failed strategy, we are concerned that Trump’s actions are weakening Juan Guaidó and pushing away our allies in the region who are working to restore democracy in Venezuela. Donald Trump continues to toy with the hopes of the Venezuelan people and exploit their suffering. This November, he will pay the price for lying to our community, and we will help electing Joe Biden, a true champion for democracy and human rights for the Venezuelan people,” said Luisana Pérez Fernández, Venezuelan and Spokeswoman for the Florida Democratic Party.

Axios: Exclusive: Trump cold on Guaidó, would consider meeting Maduro

Key Points:

• “In an Oval Office interview with Axios on Friday, President Trump suggested he’s had second thoughts about his decision to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and said he is open to meeting with dictator Nicolás Maduro.”
• “Asked whether he would meet with Maduro, Trump said, “I would maybe think about that. … Maduro would like to meet. And I’m never opposed to meetings — you know, rarely opposed to meetings.”
• “Asked whether he regretted his decision to follow his former national security adviser John Bolton’s advice on Guaidó, Trump initially said “not particularly,” but then went on to say, “I could have lived with it or without it, but I was very firmly against what’s going on in Venezuela.”
• “A former Trump administration official told me Trump’s comments to Axios tracked with their firsthand experience of the first two and a half years of his presidency, when Venezuela policy was a hotter issue in the West Wing than it is now.”
• “The former official said it was a “recurring concern” inside the administration during 2017 and 2018 that Trump would meet with Maduro. “It was really stop and go there for a while,” he said. “And the Venezuelan opposition was beside themselves.”‘