Donald Trump has doubled down on his bizarre informal proposal to Venezuela after it defeated the U.S. to win the World Baseball Classic for the first time.
A resurgent Venezuela beat the U.S. 3-2 on Tuesday night in a nail-biting final in Miami.
“Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship,” third baseman Eugenio Suárez, credited for pulling off the win, said after the game. “This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”
Also celebrating Venezuela’s victory over his own country was President Trump, who posted “STATEHOOD!!!” just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday night on his Truth Social account.
Trump, 79, was referencing his curious social media missive from Monday night after watching Venezuela defeat Italy in the semi-final.
“Good things are happening to Venezuela lately!” Trump posted. “I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE? President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Tuesday’s post repeats the president’s new fixation on Venezuela as a potential 51st state of America, a fantasy role he has previously earmarked for both Canada and Greenland, against their wishes.
Venezuela—a South American country that sits on the world’s largest oil reserves—became a Trump target after he directed the U.S. military to forcibly kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a late-night raid on Caracas in January. They both remain in custody in New York.
Trump approved Maduro’s replacement, acting president Delcy Rodríguez.
She posted a message to the winning team: “I want in the name of our people, of the government of Venezuela, to thank and hug our players.”
The acting president also declared Wednesday would be a holiday for everyone except essential workers as part of a National Day of Jubilation, “so our youth can go out to the streets, the plazas, the parks and ballfields to celebrate.”
The Associated Press reported that Tuesday’s final between the U.S. and Venezuela was politically charged, although players and coaches avoided discussion of the turmoil between the two nations since Trump’s military intervention.
The publication said the sellout crowd at IoanDepot park was heavily pro-Venezuela, and some American players were booed during the introductions.
Most fans remained for a half-hour after the end of the game to join players in singing Venezuela’s national anthem, “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo (Glory to the Brave People).”
The victory makes Venezuela the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, following the Dominican Republic in 2013. The U.S. was last victorious in 2017.
Since ousting its president, the Trump administration is now effectively overseeing Venezuela’s economy, including its lucrative oil reserves.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
