On Monday, White House representative Anna Kelly stepped up to justify President Donald Trump’s audacious proposal to incorporate Venezuela as the United States’ 51st state.
Kelly, who boasts a background in beauty pageants and serves as the principal deputy White House press secretary, is expanding her responsibilities while press secretary Karoline Leavitt is on maternity leave.
During an exchange with Fox News’ John Roberts, the journalist who initially received Trump’s comments in a phone interview earlier that day, Kelly was questioned about the President’s bold statement.
Roberts recounted that Trump expressed genuine intent, saying, “I’m very serious about this,” and sought Kelly’s perspective on the matter.
Kelly responded, “Well, John, I won’t speculate beyond what the President has already discussed with you regarding those plans. But let’s be clear, this is a President known for challenging the status quo.”
It’s important to note that Trump’s vision of making Venezuela a state would require approval from Congress.
Venezuela, a sovereign nation, would also have to agree to it.
Kelly didn’t answer Roberts’s question about how it would work, with the journalist pointing out that the United States has never absorbed another country.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly (left) defended President Donald Trump’s (right) wild plan to turn Venezuela into the 51st American state during an appearance on Fox News Channel Monday afternoon
Anna Kelly (right) has stepped into a bigger role now that her boss, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (left), is on maternity leave
‘He is always considering a host of options to improve our country,’ she said.
‘And of course, Venezuela, now led by President Delcy Rodríguez, is working incredibly cooperatively with the United States, so I won’t get ahead of any plans that the President may have to that effect,’ she added.
In January, Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, leaving Maduro’s No. 2, Rodríguez, in charge.
The President passed over Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to lead the country, even after she gifted Trump her Nobel Peace Prize in mid-January.
With Trump’s focus now on Iran, and Americans feeling weary about the war, the White House has tried to characterize Venezuela as now being problem-free.
‘This has been a tremendous success,’ Kelly argued.
‘The United States is revitalizing our relationship with Venezuela and, in turn, improving the economic situation of both countries and our people,’ she added.
Trump has traditionally been against adding more US states, due to the politics of the places that have historically pursued statehood.
Anna Kelly, the principal deputy White House press secretary, competed in beauty pageants before becoming one of the top faces of the administration
Statehood is overwhelmingly supported in Washington, DC, where the approximately 700,000 residents of the capital city have no voting members of Congress.
They do get to vote in presidential elections, with 90.3 percent voting for Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election.
Just 6.5 percent of DC residents voted for Trump.
Puerto Ricans are more divided over statehood, but residents of the island territory have also pursued it.
Last month, at an event on Trump-branded retirement accounts, the President complained that if Democrats won back the Senate, they’d quickly try to make DC and Puerto Rico states.
‘That would mean automatic four senators go into the Democrat column,’ Trump warned. ‘And there’s not even a chance they don’t do it and don’t do it immediately.’
