I suppose his ego requires it, regardless of what he thinks the VP of Venezuela is doing:
Trump has just declared himself the "acting president of Venezuela" over on Truth Social in case you're wondering about his mental health.
— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2026-01-12T01:43:01.790Z
I could have sworn he said the VP of Venezuela would work with the Americans, which I took to mean she would be President of Venezuela now.
As whoever wrote that BlueSky post says, this has serious implications about the American President’s mental health. If he had a credible sense of humor, I’d add it to the list, but Trump’s sense of humor, like everything else, is deployed strictly to enhance his social standing.
Although he doesn’t seem to be much skilled at it.
It’ll be interesting to see if he tries to actually fulfill the role in some way, or if it’s more a ceremonial claim. After all, the old Roman emperors usually meant it when they conquered a country, assigning someone the task of managing the new holding and to put down the usual uprisings.
And the International Criminal Court in The Hague may find the original post to be very interesting, as the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro by American forces, himself arguably a dictator, may be considered a war of aggression. This bit of evidence might be taken to contradict American government claims that the kidnapping was strictly a law enforcement action, and, since it comes from the lips fingertips of the ringleader of the alleged crime, that being Mr Trump, it might be taken as authoritative.
Says the obsolete software engineer.
If it weren’t for the horde of armed ICE agents, and the tragic collection of dead folks of various nationalities down in Venezuela and at least one here in Minnesota I’d almost have to say this is degenerating into a comedic play, but I shan’t because my heart is breaking for all these folks who’ve died to sooth Trump’s ego and, if you’re of a conspiratorial bent, whoever has busily been perverting both the right and left in this country, infusing them with unwarranted arrogance and trace elements of anger and hatred.
