President Donald Trump downplayed acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez’s recent comment to NBC News that Nicolás Maduro is still the legitimate leader of Venezuela, telling reporters Monday that the response was one of political necessity.
“I think she probably has to say that. I think politically, maybe she has to say that,” Trump said during a conversation with reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida.
“The relationship with Venezuela, she’s doing a very good job, and I fully understand that statement.”
Rodríguez made the comments in an exclusive interview with NBC News last week with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in Caracas.
“I can tell you President Nicolás Maduro is the legitimate president. I will tell you this as a lawyer, that I am. Both President Maduro and Cilia Flores, the first lady, are both innocent,” Rodríguez said.
The U.S. captured the pair in a stunning surprise raid early last month. Maduro and his wife were indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges and pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York just days later.
Since Maduro’s capture, Trump has praised Rodríguez’s leadership and touted the potential benefits of Venezuela’s oil resources for both countries.
In her interview with NBC News, Rodríguez also said she had been invited to come to America, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who had traveled to Venezuela to meet with the new leader, told reporters before his departure from the country that he and other Cabinet secretaries, and possibly Trump, would return.