Donald Trump Backtracks On Meeting With Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro After Backlash

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said that he was open to meeting with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his comments were met with backlash. On Monday, Trump backtracked, saying he would only meet with Maduro to discuss the dictator’s “peaceful exit.”

“Unlike the radical left, I will ALWAYS stand against socialism and with the people of Venezuela. My Admin has always stood on the side of FREEDOM and LIBERTY and against the oppressive Maduro regime! I would only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power!” he tweeted.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, Trump said that he wasn’t opposed to a meeting, but that so far he had declined to meet with Maduro, who has said that he would like to connect with the American president.

“I would maybe think about that… Maduro would like to meet. And I’m never opposed to meetings — you know, rarely opposed to meeting,” Trump said.

The commander-in-chief also expressed skepticism about the strength of Juan Guaidó as the leader of Venezuela, despite the fact that the United States and many allies have pushed to help Guaidó take power after the country’s 2018 election. In March, the Department of Justice charged Maduro with narcoterrorism and described the leader officially as the “Former” president of the South American country.

Despite efforts, Maduro is still the leader of Venezuela and Guaidó has been labeled as a fugitive from justice by the Maduro administration.

Reportedly, former national security adviser John Bolton had advised Trump to recognize Guaidó, but Trump said that he could have gone with or without Bolton’s recommendation.

The Trump administration has maintained a hard-line policy toward the Venezuelan dictator and a meeting would be a departure from that stance. As a result, people from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns and criticism.

“Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro. As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy,” former Vice President Joe Biden tweeted.

Pundits said that Trump’s comments revealed that while he claimed to want to help Venezuela fight for democracy, he was only paying lip service to the cause.

The news comes after leaks of John Bolton’s book revealed that Trump wasn’t sold on supporting Guaidó from the get-go. Reportedly, Trump thought Guaidó was “weak,” whereas Maduro was “strong.”

Bolton also claims that the president thought it would be “cool” to invade Venezuela and that the country was “really” part of the United States.