President Donald Trump came under fire after boasting that the biggest names in the oil industry would be joining him on Friday to discuss “Venezuelan Oil, and our longterm relationship with Venezuela, its Security, and People.”
“The largest Oil Companies in the World are coming to the White House at 2:30 P.M.” the president bragged on Truth Social. “Everybody wants to be there. It’s too bad that the Ballroom hasn’t completed because, if it were, it would be PACKED.”
“Today’s meeting will almost exclusively be a discussion on Venezuelan Oil, and our longterm relationship with Venezuela, its Security, and People. A very big factor in this involvement will be the reduction of Oil Prices for the American People. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly of all, will be the stoppage of Drugs and Criminals coming into the United States of America,” Trump added.
Bloomberg News described it as a “Who’s Who” of U.S. oil.
According to The Guardian, Trump’s goal is to drop the price of oil from about $56 per barrel to $50 per barrel, but “there are doubts about whether Trump will be able to reignite Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry after decades of underinvestment and corruption.”
One energy private equity investor told the Financial Times, The Guardian reported, “No one wants to go in there when a random f – – tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country.”
And as The New York Times’ Edward Wong wrote about Trump’s Truth Social post, “What’s notable about Trump’s words too is his intention to enact massive US industrial policy regarding the American oil industry and Venezuela — while the world has an oil glut. Any industry subsidies would likely come from US taxpayer money.”
Critics again charged Trump with not paying attention to domestic policy or democratic interests.
U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) wrote: “Want to know who’s meeting with Trump this morning about Venezuela’s future? Not pro-democracy leaders. Oil and gas executives.”
Pointing to a list of the oil companies invited to the White House, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) noted, “But they told us this was just a targeted military action to carry out an arrest….”
DNC Chairman Ken Martin wrote, “Donald Trump is destroying the job market. You’re paying more than ever just to barely get by. Meanwhile, he’s scheming with oil executives to make them even richer.”
Laura Rozen, a veteran foreign policy journalist wrote that Trump was “portraying a meeting with oil companies summoned to take advantage of his arrest of Maduro as the hot ticket in town.”
“He has not come down to reality that his intervention has not helped most Americans with their real problems, nor his shrinking GOP majority,” she noted.
“Before the U.S. toppled Maduro in Venezuela, Donald Trump tipped off Big Oil companies, but not Congress,” U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) noted. “Today, he’s meeting with Big Oil again. Congress hasn’t authorized any U.S. action – but Big Oil has a seat at the table. This is what an oligarchy looks like.”
A Democratic National Committee social media account wrote: “Trump is meeting today with oil executives to shape Venezuela policy. These oil companies funneled millions of dollars into his Inauguration Fund and affiliated PACs.”