Trump declares himself acting president of Venezuela on social media

Following the kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces, the US president has claimed control of the situation in Venezuela to the US leadership, led by himself.

12 Jan 2026 12:11pm
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an event at Mount Airy Casino Resort on Dec 9, 2025 in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. - (Photo by ALEX WONG / Getty Images via AFP)
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an event at Mount Airy Casino Resort on Dec 9, 2025 in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. - (Photo by ALEX WONG / Getty Images via AFP)

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump posted a screenshot on his social media platform Truth Social, claiming a new title for himself - acting president of Venezuela.

Following the kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces, the US president has claimed control of the situation in Venezuela to the US leadership, led by himself, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

The screenshot on Truth Social, stylised as a Wikipedia biography, claims Trump to be acting president of Venezuela from January 2026. He also retained his current position as US president.

The actual current acting president of the Latin American country is Delcy Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, Trump said he was unaware of the Justice Department threatening criminal indictment against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Powell previously stated that the Justice Department was threatening him with criminal indictment due to his Senate testimony regarding a long-term project to renovate the Federal Reserve's historic buildings. He attributed the threats to pressure from the current administration.

"I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings," NBC quoted the US president as saying.

Trump previously repeatedly criticised Powell for his slow pace of interest rate cuts and also mentioned the possibility of firing the Fed chairman. Trump has also noted that Powell's actions were costing the US trillions of dollars and were accompanied by one of the most incompetent and corrupt reconstructions in history. - BERNAMA

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