Trump Revives 51st State Talk With New Country in Mind

President Donald Trump has brought up the idea of adding another country to the United States. He told Fox News that he is thinking about whether Venezuela could become the 51st state.

Trump made this comment during a phone call with Fox News on Monday. He said he was “seriously considering” the idea, according to anchor John Roberts. This marks another instance of Trump discussing the addition of foreign territory to the United States. He has made similar statements about Canada and Greenland in the past.

Trump highlighted Venezuela’s oil wealth as part of his reasoning. He mentioned that the South American country has an estimated $40 trillion in oil. “Venezuela loves Trump,” he claimed, according to the network.

This statement prompted a quick response from Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez. She rejected any suggestion that Venezuela would join the United States.

Rodríguez made her remarks on Monday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where Venezuela and Guyana were involved in hearings regarding the disputed Essequibo region.

Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” Rodríguez stated, according to Livemint. “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history.”

Rodríguez noted that Venezuela had “never” considered becoming the 51st state, as reported by the Washington Examiner. She emphasized that Venezuelans remain dedicated to defending their nation’s sovereignty.

She also mentioned that U.S. and Venezuelan officials had been in touch and were working on “cooperation and understanding,” according to The Associated Press.

Trump’s comments came months after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January.

Fox News reported that this operation left Rodríguez collaborating with U.S. officials during a transition period. Maduro had been indicted by the Justice Department on narco-terrorism charges.

In January, the president stated that the United States would assist in running the country during that time and work with Rodríguez, according to Fox News.

The network also reported that administration officials and White House energy advisers had met with oil executives about investment in Venezuela. Major U.S. companies had been pushed out nearly two decades earlier when Hugo Chávez nationalized the oil industry.

The suggestion of statehood has no immediate legal path. Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to admit new states to the union. This provision states, “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union.”

The National Constitution Center explains that the admission of a state requires at least one act of Congress. Lawmakers often use a longer process that includes an enabling act, a proposed state constitution, and an application for admission.

Trump has raised the idea of statehood or territorial expansion multiple times during his second term.

He often suggested that Canada could become the 51st state, an idea that Canadian leaders rejected. The Associated Press reported last year that any such effort would face significant legal and political challenges, including approval by Congress.

He has also talked about Greenland, linking the island to U.S. security interests. This latest comment about Venezuela shifts the focus to a country with abundant oil reserves and a lengthy history of tension with Washington.

The timing of his remark coincides with Venezuela’s ongoing territorial dispute with Guyana. Rodríguez spoke in The Hague on the last day of hearings regarding Essequibo, a mineral- and oil-rich region that Venezuela has claimed for over a century.

Trump has not put forward a formal statehood proposal. As of Monday, the White House had not provided detailed steps for such a move.

For now, his comments add Venezuela to a growing list of locations he has publicly associated with potential U.S. expansion.