“I want you to stop doomscrolling — just really pay attention for a second,” MS NOW host Stephanie Ruhle said on Monday’s “The 11th Hour,” before highlighting remarks from President Donald Trump about the possibility of American taxpayers reimbursing oil companies for rebuilding Venezuela’s aging energy infrastructure.
After the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last weekend, Trump told NBC News that he believes the U.S. oil industry could get expanded operations “up and running” in the country in less than 18 months.
“I think we can do it in less time than that, but it’ll be a lot of money,” he said. “A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.”
Ruhle noted: “The president did not say how much money that could cost, but I’m going to tell you: It’s a lot.” She added that taxpayers could pay billions.
She added: “I just want to level-set for a moment about exactly what’s happening here. … While Maduro is locked up here in New York, his regime is still largely in place — and they will be as long as their oil reserves are open to U.S. companies.”
But, as the MS NOW host pointed out, “We do not know whether U.S. oil companies actually want to invest big in Venezuela again. Remember, that oil is not American oil; it is Venezuela’s.”
Ruhle also noted that U.S. oil companies are already wary of building up infrastructure in the politically unstable country.
“Many years ago, U.S. oil companies made a bunch of very risky investments in Venezuela, and they got burned badly by Maduro’s predecessor, who basically kicked him out,” she said. “That history is still fresh in executives’ minds. It is why Trump is dangling the carrot of big reimbursements if they buy into his plan.” However, that plan isn’t exactly well thought-out on the president’s side, Ruhle said, and would leave American taxpayers on the hook for years to come. “But for fact’s sake, as I said, it could take a decade and billions and billions of dollars for U.S. oil companies to rebuild infrastructure and get that oil pumping on Russian and Chinese oil fields, no less,” Ruhle said. “And Trump, don’t forget, he’s leaving office in less than three years.” She argued that Trump’s proposal exposed his lopsided priorities. “The president isn’t looking at the underlying economy,” she said, adding, “He’s focused on hooking up Big Business.” You can watch Ruhle’s full analysis in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. Recommended
