Trump tells MS NOW host US is going to 'keep the oil' in Venezuela
President Donald Trump told MS NOW host Joe Scarborough that the U.S. was going to "keep the oil" in Venezuela as the host pressed the president on comparisons to Iraq.
President Donald Trump told MS NOW host Joe Scarborough that the U.S. was going to "keep the oil," following the strikes in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
"I’ve spoken with Donald Trump probably half a dozen times since he was back in the White House. And yesterday was the first time I talked to him in a few months. And I called to get the reaction, and to see what I might be able to glean on what was coming next," Scarborough revealed on Tuesday.
Scarbrough said he and the president talked about the flawlessness of the military operation that captured Maduro and explained that he pressed Trump on running Venezuela and comparisons to President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.
"When I pressed comparisons with America’s failed occupation of Iraq, the president’s response was very different. I asked him, I said, Mr. President, when you say, 'we’re going to run everything,' that obviously causes deep concerns because of the disaster in Iraq. The president’s response: 'Joe, the difference between Iraq and this is that Bush didn’t keep the oil. We’re going to keep the oil,'" Scarborough said, quoting Trump.
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President Donald Trump addresses the media during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The MS NOW host said Trump took his remarks off background and quoted the president as saying, "In 2016, I said we should have kept the oil. It caused a lot of controversy. Well, we should have kept the oil."
"We’re going to rebuild their broken-down oil facilities, and this time we’re going to keep the oil," Trump said, according to Scarborough.
Scarborough added, "Saying the United States is entering a new era of geopolitical engagement seems to be an understatement."
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Protesters rally outside the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Trump said Saturday that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela until what he described as a safe, proper and judicious transition can take place.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted in the Southern District of New York on federal charges that include narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons-related charges.
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Nicolás Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026, in New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)
Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Venezuela, a country almost twice the size of California, sits atop extraordinary wealth in the form of its enormous oil reserves.
With more than 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Venezuela holds more crude than established energy heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. The Latin American country’s reserves are nearly quadruple those of the United States.
Once a major oil producer, the country pumped about 3.5 million barrels a day in the late 1990s. Since then, its oil industry has sharply deteriorated, with production falling to roughly 800,000 barrels a day, according to energy analytics firm Kpler.
Trump said on Saturday he would seek to revive the once-prominent commodity by mobilizing investment from major U.S. energy companies.
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Fox News Digital's Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
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