TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Monday distanced himself from his own comments that signaled an openness to talks with Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro — but the reversal is unlikely to prevent a political mess in Florida and still complicates the GOP’s 2020 attempt to brand Democrats as socialists.
“Unlike the radical left, I will ALWAYS stand against socialism and with the people of Venezuela,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “My Admin has always stood on the side of FREEDOM and LIBERTY and against oppressive Maduro regime!”
“I would only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power!” Trump added.
That contradicts comments he made in an interview with Axios in which he second-guessed his own administration’s decision to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the South American country’s legitimate president. On the potential Maduro meeting, he said “you lose very little with meetings.”
The interview, published Sunday night, immediately sent shockwaves through Florida’s political ecosystem, especially in South Florida, which is home to more than 400,000 Hispanics of Venezuelan origin. Many of those are expats who fled Maduro’s socialist regime. During a briefing Monday, White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany clarified that, despite his comments, Trump continues to view Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
The mere flirtation with diplomatic talks with Maduro could hurt Trump’s standing in the nation’s largest swing state, which he needs to win in November in order to return to the White House for a second term. It also has big down-ticket implications as Republicans try to flip a vulnerable Miami congressional seat and fend off Democrats’ attempt to win seats in the region that could inch them close to taking control of the Florida Senate for the first time in nearly two decades.
Republicans up and down the ballot have also galvanized around a central 2020 messaging strategy focused on branding Democrats as far-left lovers of socialism. Months of that groundwork is now, at least in part, set back by the president’s own comments.
“Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro,” Joe Biden tweeted Sunday night. “As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.”
Trump’s comments were also at odds with actions taken by his administration. Vice President Mike Pence, during a February 2019 visit to a church in Doral, Fla., said “all options are on the table” for ousting Maduro. Pence also met with political prisoners and former Venezuelan elected leaders who fled the country, and met with Florida GOP Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, both of whom have become anti-Maduro hardliners.
Trump’s Department of Justice indicted Maduro and former regime officials just three months ago on narco-terrorism and corruption charges.
Some Florida Republicans, including some of Trump’s biggest political allies, distanced themselves from the Sunday night remarks.
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Trump distanced himself from his own comments that signaled an openness to talks with Nicolás Maduro — but the reversal is unlikely to prevent a political mess in Florida and still complicates the GOP’s 2020 attempt to brand Democrats as socialists https://t.co/bLtxAUvo20
— POLITICO (@politico) June 22, 2020
I love the opening line to this article:
"President Donald Trump on Monday distanced himself from his own comments …"
It could begin so many articles.https://t.co/tsEBU0Gkgy
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) June 22, 2020
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