Donald Trump isn’t just content to be president of the United States anymore—he’s now openly claiming to be the “acting president of Venezuela” on social media, and critics are having a field day.
On Sunday, Trump posted a mock Wikipedia-style image on Truth Social declaring himself Venezuela’s leader as of January 2026. The timing tracks: earlier this month, he sent the U.S. military into Venezuela without Congressional approval to kidnap President Nicolás Maduro and drag him to New York for trial on drug trafficking charges.
THE DETAILS: While Maduro’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez is ostensibly the interim leader, Trump made clear his intentions immediately after the military operation: “We’re going to run the country.” He’s also been meeting with oil executives at the White House to discuss Venezuela’s petroleum reserves—because of course this was always about the oil.
The Senate issued a bipartisan rebuke over the unauthorized invasion, but that hasn’t stopped Trump from openly branding himself as dictator of a sovereign nation he just invaded.
BUT BUT BUT: Critics across social media were not amused. Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat called it an “authoritarian megalomania alert.” Rep. Ted Lieu pointed out the absurdity: “Trump sucks at running America. Which is why he also sucks at running Venezuela. The U.S. is now warning all Americans to leave Venezuela.”
Others were more blunt. One user simply posted “WTF,” while activist Melanie D’Arrigo noted: “Nothing says ‘America First’ like posting that you’re the ‘acting President’ of another country that you’ve attacked with America’s military to steal their oil for your billionaire donors to profit from.”
Jesse Lee called out the colonial fantasy: “Trump is under the impression that people like being colonized, a good argument for not electing the most ignorant person in the world to be the most powerful person in the world.”
WHY IT MATTERS: This isn’t just social media trolling—it’s the president of the United States openly declaring imperial control over a nation he invaded without Congressional authorization. The “acting president” title suggests Trump genuinely sees himself as running Venezuela, not just temporarily managing a transition.
As one critic put it: “He’s living in complete fantasyland. How long will Republicans continue to pretend that this delusional, demented old man should remain in office?”
Another observer summed up the stakes: “Chaos, division, contempt for democracy, defiance of the law, political theatre, normalisation of extremes: how Trump’s authoritarian kleptocracy works.”