Trump Calls Venezuelan Oil Cargo Free at Texas Rally and Floats 51st State. Reported Contract Terms Show Discounted Purchases

At a midterm rally in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Oct. 27, Trump pointed to a ship he said held "one million barrels of oil" and said Venezuela could become the 51st state.

"We're bringing out a lot of oil for ourselves, a lot. It will become a prosperous country, and who knows? Maybe someday soon it will become a prosperous 51st state. That's possible," Trump said, standing beside the tanker.

He went further. "Let's make it. Let's make it the 51st state. And instead of a president, we'll have an election for a governor. How about that? You know, they have a lot of oil."

The oil claim

Trump called the shipment "the greatest oil victory in history." He said the crude was being "provided to the United States at zero cost to the American taxpayer" and described it as a "gift."

He also said "billions and billions of dollars are now being invested by the biggest oil companies" and that the crude will be refined in Texas, including in Corpus Christi.

On Truth Social, he claimed U.S. fuel prices "will soon come plummeting down." Gas prices jumped after the U.S. entered the war with Iran in February and Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a route for roughly 20% of the world's oil.

The contract terms that have been made public describe something different from a free cargo. American refiners bought Venezuelan oil on commercial terms both before and after the U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power.

The separate August deal between the Trump administration and Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt does not provide free oil. According to a copy of the "sensitive" contract obtained by ProPublica, it lets the U.S. buy up to one fifth of the partnership's production at $30 per barrel, a 75% discount off present prices.

The 51st-state remark

This is not a one-off. MercoPress reports that Trump said in February Venezuela could become the 53rd state, after Canada and Greenland, and that in August he shared a map of the country in the colors of the U.S. flag with the caption "51st state." Venezuela joins a growing list of countries and territories Trump has spoken of acquiring, including Greenland, Canada and Mexico.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has rejected the idea on several occasions. In July she said Venezuela has more than two centuries of sovereignty.

The remarks come amid close working ties. After the Jan. 3 U.S. operation, Washington recognized Rodríguez's government and lifted sanctions on her and her brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez. Maduro was taken to New York to face criminal charges.

Critics of the arrangement complain that the administration has not pushed a transition to democracy. Elections have not been held in Venezuela since Maduro was detained. The State Department has said that under the roadmap negotiated with the opposition, Rodríguez should leave the presidency vacant in 2027, although the presidential election still has no date. Trump's governor-election line is the closest he has come to describing a political process, and it came attached to statehood.

The campaign backdrop

The rally was part of a Texas swing a week before the Nov. 3 midterms. It was Trump's third Texas visit in a month. He was there to back Republican Ken Paxton's Senate bid against Democrat James Talarico.

Ad-tracking firm AdImpact puts spending on the race at more than $563 million across the primary and general elections. Elon Musk appears to have put at least $158 million toward defeating Talarico, routed through the Senate Leadership Fund to the Texas PAC that is the largest contributor to Paxton's campaign.

Talarico has made Musk a stump-speech target. "He is trying to buy Texas. Texas is not for sale," he said. Trump, for his part, called Paxton a "good man" and said of Talarico, "He doesn't represent your values, and we can't take a chance."

Polls show Trump's approval ratings at record lows, driven in part by the Iran war and tariffs. Trump used the Venezuela operation as an example of his success and as a visual for an argument that cheaper energy is coming. Whether that shows up at the pump before Nov. 3 is the claim voters will be able to check against their own receipts.