US President Donald Trump speaks during a maternal healthcare event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, May 11, 2026. Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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President Donald Trump is again eyeing adding another star to the U.S. flag, and he is looking much further south than Greenland.
Big picture view:
Trump told FOX News’ John Roberts in an interview that he was “seriously considering” making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state.
The backstory:
A FOX News post indicated Trump’s reason for wanting to admit the South American nation into the Union is the amount of oil reserves Venezuela possesses, which the president estimates at around $40 trillion.
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The president has previously indicated he wanted Canada and Greenland to become part of the United States.
The other side:
Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez responded to the report by insisting that her country has no intention of becoming a U.S. state. “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” she said, adding that Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country.”
Dig deeper:
Rodríguez became Venezuela’s leader after U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3 during an overnight operation. Maduro is facing charges in the U.S. related to narcoterrorism.