Venezuela: Trump Rejects Comparisons between Iraq, Venezuela: ‘We’re Going to Keep the Oil’

Jan 6, 2026 | Julia Manchester
The Hill
View Original

President Trump on Monday dismissed comparisons between past US involvement in Iraq and the recent military operation in Venezuela, saying the difference is that the Trump administration plans to keep the seized oil from Venezuela.“The difference between Iraq and this is that [former President George W. Bush] didn’t keep the oil. We’re going to keep the oil,” Trump said, according to MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough, who detailed his conversation with the president. 

“In 2016, I said we should have kept the oil. It caused a lot of controversy. Well, we should have kept the oil,” Trump continued, as recalled by the “Morning Joe” host. “And we’re going to rebuild their broken-down oil facilities, and this time we’re going to keep the oil.” 

Trump’s comments to Scarborough come after the president told NBC News on Monday that he was open to the US supporting oil companies to help build up Venezuela’s infrastructure, which he said could take less than 18 months.