President Donald Trump reportedly said on Monday that he is “seriously considering” moving to add Venezuela as a 51st U.S. state.
Fox News host John Roberts posted the news on social media.
Just got off the phone with @realDonaldTrump … he told me he is seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state… pic.twitter.com/cofs12dhUS
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) May 11, 2026
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin elaborated, writing on X, “President Trump tells @FoxNews colleague @johnrobertsFox in a phone call just now that he is ‘seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state’, adding that there is $40 trillion in oil there and ‘Venezuela loves Trump.’”
Many suggested on social media that Trump is probably trolling to get his political rivals on the left talking about the prospect.
Hahaha he does this every time. He throws something out there that’s so wild and gets exactly what he wants.
— Erikaaa (@ErikaC47) May 11, 2026
Oh my! This will cause the Schumer brigade to light their hair on fire! #MAGA
— Jeff (@aHickoryGrove) May 11, 2026
For Venezuela to actually become a state, it would first have to become a U.S. territory, which it either would have to agree to or the U.S. military would take it by force. Neither seems a likely scenario.
Assuming Venezuela did become a territory, the path to statehood has varied over time, but the most recent method is called the Tennessee Plan — a method first used in 1796 for what became the Volunteer State.
According to Congress.gov, it involves five steps: 1) drafting a state constitution; 2) electing state officers; 3) organizing a state-like territorial government; 4) sending an elected ‘congressional’ delegation to Washington to lobby for statehood; and 5) Congress passing legislation admitting the territory as a state.
If Venezuela did become a state, it would be the third most populous with 28.6 million, behind California at 39.4 million and Texas at 31.7 million.
The first flight from the U.S. in years landed in Venezuela yesterday as @POTUS rapidly remakes the world.
“The last time I was here in Venezuela was 18 years ago and I’m very excited to go and see the family.”
“Taking my family back, my kids back, my grandkids… Historic.” pic.twitter.com/DXYP7cvyhp
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 1, 2026
Trump told podcast host Sharyl Attkisson, in an interview published over the weekend, “Venezuela is a very happy country right now. They were miserable, and now they are happy. It’s being well-run.”
Reuters reported that Venezuelan oil exports in April rose to their highest level since 2018, averaging 1.23 million barrels per day, with increased sales to the U.S., India, and Europe.
Trump:
Venezuela is a very happy country right now. They were miserable, and now they are happy.
The oil that’s coming out is enormous. pic.twitter.com/1odmwBXdYL
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 10, 2026
Nonetheless, The Miami Herald reported last week that recent polling in Venezuela indicates the people are not pleased with interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s leadership.
“While 92% of respondents in January said they felt grateful to the U.S. president following [Nicolás] Maduro’s capture, that figure had fallen to 47% by April — a decline of 45 percentage points in just three months. The drop appears to coincide with Trump’s growing closeness to Rodríguez, who assumed power on Jan. 5,” the newspaper reported.
Pollster Ruben Chirinos, of the Venezuelan polling firm Meganálisis, told the outlet that 89 percent of respondents oppose Trump’s team negotiating with Rodríguez. Additionally, 78 percent believe Venezuela is on “the right track.”
Further, 87 percent of those surveyed believe Venezuela needs to hold a presidential election this year.
“In that scenario, opposition leader María Corina Machado is the clear frontrunner. In an open-ended question, she commands 71% of voting intention, rising to 76% when specific candidates are presented. Rodríguez, by contrast, garners just 4%. Even in a hypothetical runoff, 76% say they would vote for Machado, compared with just 2% for Rodríguez,” according to the Herald.
Machado, who gifted her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump in January, is also calling for elections to take place.
🚨 JUST IN: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado DOUBLES DOWN on giving her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump
“Trump is the ONLY head of state that has risked the lives of some of his citizens for freedom and democracy in my country.” 🇺🇸🇻🇪
47 is a worldwide… pic.twitter.com/BacsPHQ2t1
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 11, 2026
Shortly before Roberts reported about the U.S. president considering the idea of making Venezuela the 51st state, she told CNN, “Trump is the only head of state that has risked the lives of some of his citizens for freedom and democracy in my country.”
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