Trump Criticized Over Meeting Face-to-Face With Maduro

President Trump took part in an interview with Axios, and Florida Democrats are slamming the president for some of his comments during the interview regarding Venezuela and meeting with the current leadership that has placed a stranglehold on the country.

During the interview, the president was asked if he would meet with Nicolás Maduro, and Trump commented that he “would maybe think about that.” He added that “Maduro would like to meet. And I’m never opposed to meetings – you know, rarely opposed to meetings.”

Moreover, Trump noted that “you lose very little with meetings. But at this moment, I’ve turned them down.”

The president also added that he has lost confidence in Juan Guaidó after being one of the first national leaders to recognize him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, and many top officials in the Trump administration have shown full support of Guaidó.

One critic in South Florida that has voiced her disapproval of president Trump’s comments is Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), arguing that “the news that President Trump is willing to abandon Venezuelans yearning for democracy exemplifies his incoherent and inconsistent foreign policy toward Maduro’s narco-regime.”

Mucarsel-Powell added that “taking a meeting with Nicolás Maduro, who was just indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for narco-terrorism, clearly shows his complete disregard for freedom and democracy and undermines the gains made by the legitimate President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, to restore democracy.”

The Florida lawmaker concluded by saying that “the president’s words and actions are putting in danger the future of Venezuela, and the pattern is clear: Trump stands with dictators and authoritarians and desires to be one.”

This week also marks the release of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's book The Room Where it Happened. It's in Bolton's book that he describes President Trump's views of Guaidó. Bolton accuses the president of calling Guaidó "weak" and calling Maduro a "strong" leader.