Oil first, America last: Quid pro quo for Big Oil donors.

We’re barely a week into 2026 and Trump has already thrown any semblance of a New Year’s resolution out the window, launching a good old fashioned War for Oil under the pretense of regime change in Venezuela. Trump’s dramatic military operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife was followed by the announcement of a vague plan to have the US “run” Venezuela. Oh, and take over the country’s oil infrastructure. I’m calling it what it is: a brazen assault not just on a sovereign nation without congressional approval, but also on the “America First” agenda that delivered him a second term. He’s playing the hits in a George W. Bush tribute band while operating under the delusion that he’s redefining US foreign policy with the “Don-roe Doctrine.” But no amount of wordplay is going to distract from the fact that this is a blatant resource grab. I don’t see any way around this: it’s meant to line the pockets of wealthy donors at the expense of solving Americans’ crushing affordability problems. This all matters because Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, more than even Saudi Arabia and Iran. Last year, Trump told oil executives at a Mar a Lago dinner that if they donated a billion dollars to his campaign that they would get a “deal because of the taxation and regulation they would avoid thanks to him.” The guest list included execs from Chevron, Continental Resources, Exxon and Occidental Petroleum. Here we are, a year later, and he’s made good on the promise. Those oil execs are getting the “Quo” to go with that “Quid Pro.” It’s a thank-you gift to the wealthy elite who helped him with the election. And a conspicuous snub to the people who actually supported him. His MAGA voters won’t be getting anything out of the deal. You can’t buy eggs with access to oil reserves in Venezuela.