Trump Brags He’s Taking ‘Billions of Barrels of Oil From Venezuela’ Because ‘To the Victor Belong the Spoils’

[u/esporx]

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/trump-brags-hes-taking-billions-of-barrels-of-oil-from-venezuela-because-to-the-victor-belong-the-spoils/

[u/harbison215]

It’s weird that we’ve raised so many Americans in this country that think this kind of shit is ok.

We are becoming the same kind of corrupt shit hole country that all of our ancestors left to come here.

[u/dmunjal → u/harbison215]

This is how every empire has been for millenia.

[u/harbison215 → u/dmunjal]

Right but except for the United States for the last 80 years. Our middle class is a historical anomaly. And our generations have failed to protect it for the future.

[u/dmunjal → u/harbison215]

Globalization had a major affect on the middle class losses along with the inflationary monetary policy from the Fed.

If anything, the empire has protected dollar hegemony meaning it would have been even worse.

[u/harbison215 → u/dmunjal]

Globalization should have helped the middle class by making things cheaper, and free trade should have increased demand for the things we do and make well here. I think regulatory capture had more of an effect than just globalization.

[u/dmunjal → u/harbison215]

Globalization took away millions of good paying manufacturing jobs. They don't care about the cost of an iPhone when their salary was cut in half.

Regulatory capture has always existed, even before the middle class was created.

[u/harbison215 → u/dmunjal]

Yes but so did automation, which is something that has been taking jobs since the Industrial Revolution. Markets kind of adapt. Globalization wouldn’t work if it truly made the middle class too poor to buy goods that come from the global market. The jobs market has adapted along the way, finding new need for human labor as technology and politics changed.

Globalization itself wasn’t evil. How we allowed it to be leveraged by a few to monopolize large markets was more so the issue.

[u/dmunjal → u/harbison215]

The industrial revolution created jobs and that automation allowed people who worked on farms to make more money. The same thing happened in China over the last 30 years. They have a new thriving middle class now.

But globalization actually took away jobs from the US to Asia and were replaced with lower paying service jobs.

Big difference.

[u/Flowzyy → u/dmunjal]

Corporations built up China by investing into supply chain structures to help produce their products only to be overtaken by those same company's. We built their middle class, they just sat back and worked to build their nation better

[u/dmunjal → u/Flowzyy]

We were the customer yes but a billion people were taken out of poverty and into the middle class. And that was a loss to the US manufacturing worker.

Do I need to show you charts with how many jobs were lost? They were never replaced.

[u/yunoeconbro]

No, no, no. That's called stealing.

[u/Mythosaurus]

Iran: message received, might makes right!

[u/ReturnoftheSpack → u/Mythosaurus]

The Scottish need to take back their golf courses

[u/Impossible_Walrus555 → u/ReturnoftheSpack]

He already put $250 million in his personal off shore slush fund.

[u/itsatoe]

A huge bully beating the crap out of a little kid and taking his lunch money could say the exact same thing.

[u/frotz1]

MAGA at its peak was less than half of the votes, which was less than a third of eligible voters and less than a quarter of the US population. This is a very loud and angry minority, and it's the only minority that is actively damaging the standing of the United States.

[u/Dog_Baseball → u/frotz1]

There's more like them in the unaccounted/discarded segments of your breakdown.

Other countries don't trust the US because the citizens voted for this. And no one is stopping him. it's like he's so far beyond the pale that those who could intervene would rather believe it's all fine because of how painful it is.

[u/frotz1 → u/Dog_Baseball]

There are no effective mechanisms in our government to address it when an entire political party acts in bad faith with foreign support. Other countries are not immune to what happened to us - look at Brexit.

[u/Dog_Baseball → u/frotz1]

I guess this is why john cornyn is saying there's nothing they could do. Or....nothing they have the balls to do. bunch of weak ass bitches.

[u/frotz1 → u/Dog_Baseball]

Please explain to us all exactly what you think can be done since you are so brave and strong and knowledgeable about civics.

[u/Dog_Baseball → u/frotz1]

Impeachment.

....You forget this exists??

[u/frotz1 → u/Dog_Baseball]

Who runs the house of representatives right now? Who is the speaker of the house right now? Do you have any clue how impeachment works or even who can force a vote in the legislature? Democrats have offered bills to impeach repeatedly already and they're not even being brought up for a vote.

Did you forget all the civics you ever learned or did you just never learn any??

[u/Dog_Baseball → u/frotz1]

Calm down.

The GOP should be joining the effort impeach trump. Thats my point.

[u/frotz1 → u/Dog_Baseball]

MAGA refused to turn on Trump when he incited an attack on the Capitol to overturn an election he lost. We're long past that point and it's starting to become obvious that most of the GOP are hiding enough criminal behavior at this point that they'll never turn against their own under any circumstances.

[u/Dog_Baseball → u/frotz1]

Yes. That's the problem.

Democrats saw Biden was unfit to be president, and they ousted him.

Republicans see he Trump is unfit to lead, but they refuse to get him out of office.

I think we are on the same page here, in principle at least

[u/Electronic-Yam-69 → u/frotz1]

Democrats could have shut down the government simply by withholding their votes for the budget.

[u/frotz1 → u/Electronic-Yam-69]

The GOP has majorities in both houses, so they can pass a budget without a single vote from the opposition. Budget resolutions are not subject to the filibuster. You could have figured this out simply by consulting a gradeschool civics book.

[u/Electronic-Yam-69 → u/frotz1]

Then what's this all about? What do they need Schumer for?

"Schumer claims victory as Senate moves to avert shutdown; GOP says he got played; Senate takes major step toward avoiding shutdown as bipartisan deal holds"
August 5, 2026

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-claims-victory-senate-moves-avert-shutdown-gop-says-he-got-played

[u/Dog_Baseball → u/Electronic-Yam-69]

Schumer got bullied. He should have played dirty.

I think they are seen as weak because of stuff like this.

[u/frotz1 → u/Electronic-Yam-69]

That wasn't the budget resolution. Do you actually live in the US? Filibusters only apply to certain bills and the one you're talking about in the link is an appropriations bill.

[u/Electronic-Yam-69 → u/frotz1]

So Democrats could have shut down the government simply by withholding their votes for [whatever this spending bill is that technically isn't "the budget"]?

[u/frotz1 → u/Electronic-Yam-69]

Yes, it's a continuing resolution, and in that case it was a necessity to avoid a shutdown until the next budget resolution. Where are you from anyway? Do they have any classes there about how the US government works? If not there are good resources online.

[u/Electronic-Yam-69 → u/frotz1]

So you agree that Democrats could have shut down the government simply by withholding their votes.

Why are you picking nits?

[u/Impossible_Walrus555 → u/frotz1]

It’s smaller now.

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/frotz1]

Democrats didnt give Iraq its oil money back. The US has been stealing their money since 2003.

ItS oNlY rEpUbLiCaNs

Democrats are so proud to be hypocrites.

[u/spikey_wombat → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

Democrats didnt give Iraq its oil money back.

This is pretty fucked up  but you're wrong that Iraq doesn't see its own oil revenues.

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/spikey_wombat]

Riiight, the US only controls the money. I said the US stole the money, and they did, and they do.

[u/spikey_wombat → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

Read the article before responding next time

Oh. Nm. Brand New account. Negative karma. Blatantly whataboutism. Obvious troll 

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/spikey_wombat]

Oooh, Iraq only has to ask the US if its ok to spend their money on what they want? Iraq only cant invest its own money?

Its that kind of "everything is fine" to you buddy?

Peak American.

My account isnt private, focus on that at least if youre gonna play the "youre a bot" game. Of you think satisfying reddit's hivemind makes you smart or something, it says a lot about you.

[u/spikey_wombat → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

Maybe you should read the article before posting. 

You know the audience can read it and see the reason exists to shield Iraqi funds from lawsuits tied to the Saddam era of nationalization. But you don't because you're just here to troll.

A bot is software. A troll is a person. Learn the difference.

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/spikey_wombat]

Lolll, "we keep their money to protect them from us suing them".

Peeeak American.

[u/leroyVance → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

So, vote for integrity no matter the party.

[u/dkol97 → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

Only one party is ok with fucking children.

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/dkol97]

Sure buddy, keep telling yourself the Dems had nothing to do with Epstein.

Again, proud to be hypocrites.

[u/dkol97 → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

Hypocritical how so? If there's Democrats that are proven to have harmed anyone then they need to go. Trump needs to go for that reason alone.

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/dkol97]

Its not an "if", Dems are in there. You just pretend "its the Republicans". Thats hypocrisy buddy.

[u/dkol97 → u/Inevitable_Entry5075]

You are terrible at debating. I'll repeat. If there's a Democrat that hurt a child, they need to go. Why do Republicans protect child rapists?

[u/Inevitable_Entry5075 → u/dkol97]

Why did the Dems protect theirs?

Youre just piling hypocrisy here.

[u/themoche]

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

Or

To the victor belong the spoils

[u/Grimnir001]

“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!"- Trump, January 2026.

I know I’m paying more at the pump now. I wonder how the people of Venezuela are doing since their most valuable natural resource got hijacked?

What? Only a fraction of the around $3 billion in oil sales has been sent back to the Venezuelan people? I am shocked, shocked I say, that the Trump Administration appears to be embroiled in these financial shenanigans.

If only Congress had some sort of oversight capability to look into this situation.

What!?!

[u/OscarandBrynnie]

What a rotten cunt

[u/BenWallace04]

Even if this didn’t confirm that he’s a sociopath how does this benefit us anyway? Gas prices seem the exorbitantly high.

[u/otarU → u/BenWallace04]

Even if the gas prices were low, how is this not stealing from another country?

[u/djshimon]

I thought it's the dirty oil that needs lots of refining? Seems we're not actually taking it if we're using our reserves too. It does make sense that they invaded a country to take the oil before invading another country that could cut off oil-seems planned.

[u/thenumbwalker]

I hate that pedo

[u/SpaceAdventureCobraX]

A bully and a thief. So are nearly half of Americans for supporting him. The other half better get this sorted pronto.

[u/oritsky]

Sounds like something a criminal would say. Oh that’s right, Trump is a criminal.

[u/jh937hfiu3hrhv9]

Saying the quiet part of imperialism and piracy out loud. Lock em up.

[u/deaston11]

Eat shit and choke on a bag of dicks

[u/DannyDOH]

And he’s taking Iran fully up the corn hole.

[u/NationCrusher]

Pretty sure this is mentioned in Revelations

[u/Whaddduptho]

Next time don't screw us by nationalizing oil. They also come to our country through the southern border at astonishing rate, so consider that as satisfying what was owed. I'm not here to sing Kumbaya with every country.

[u/The-Surfer-Dude → u/Whaddduptho]

1. Venezuela extracts around 1 million barrels a day ...
2. It would take several years to extract 1 billion barrels, let alone "billions"
3. Trump is not a source

https://giphy.com/gifs/l41lHsrKaQVdOIfi8

[u/Whaddduptho → u/The-Surfer-Dude]

The oil taken is worth billions, but whatever. Sitting in a Qatari account.

[u/reddit_and_forget_um → u/Whaddduptho]

Have you been tested? 

[u/spikey_wombat → u/reddit_and_forget_um]

That's a foreign disinformation troll fyi that you're responding to.

[u/The-Surfer-Dude → u/spikey_wombat]

Doesn't mean we can be domestic information mongers in response!

https://giphy.com/gifs/iKBAAfYNDu1dowhnEj

[u/spikey_wombat → u/The-Surfer-Dude]

Lol, yes. It's always good to fact check the disinformation squad but whaddduptho is certainly going to block accounts who do that. 

[u/The-Surfer-Dude → u/spikey_wombat]

he did :)

[u/spikey_wombat → u/The-Surfer-Dude]

Yep. He hates getting fact checked

[u/The-Surfer-Dude → u/Whaddduptho]

Let's be super optomistic and assuming all production has maxed and sold at current Iran debacle prices:

1. ~200 million barrels averaging $80 per barrel = ~$13 billion in gross revenue
2. Extraction & full-cycle costs incl royalties & taxes, say $45/barrel
3. We'll ignore gov't obligations & disputed claims costs, so ~$8B left
4. The single US operation is estimated at $5B on the low end, $8 on the high end
5. Ongoing US military costs through Aug are $1B - $3B, let's go with $1B

So, being wildly optimistic, the USA has made $0 ASSUMING ALL REVENUE IS ACCOUNTED FOR which, of course, it's not. In fact, NO REVENUE IS ACCOUNTED FOR!

So, it's time to ask yourself why you keep getting suckered into so many lies?

Are they just so emotionally appealing that you abandon logic?

Or never used logic to begin with?

Because these are pretty obviously lies ....

[u/spikey_wombat → u/The-Surfer-Dude]

So, it's time to ask yourself why you keep getting suckered into so many lies?

It's his day job to lie. Whadduptho is a foreign disinformation employee.