Trump’s Venezuela Obsession Worries Aides Ahead of Midterm Elections

Sunday Ehigiator with agency report

President Donald Trump’s focus on the brazen U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is frustrating some White House aides and Republican lawmakers, who want him to address economic and healthcare concerns in an election year, according to three people familiar with the matter.

With voters disgruntled about rising prices and Trump’s handling of the economy, some allies fear the President’s intense focus on foreign policy could jeopardise the party’s tenuous control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, Reuters reported.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, her deputy, James Blair and Vice President JD Vance are pressing Trump to prioritise domestic concerns, said two White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

Vance has been the most persistent voice in meetings, repeatedly steering conversations back to kitchen-table issues, they said.
In the wake of last week’s Venezuela operation, some top White House aides are “openly frustrated” that Trump and many senior officials continue to talk so much about foreign affairs, one of the officials said. Despite easing inflation, many voters remain focused on affordability as they face high costs for housing, food and health insurance.

Asked for comment, the White House said Trump has always made the economy his top priority, citing his announcements this week aimed at lowering home prices, and said his foreign policy has “consistently put America First.”
“The President will always work to bring investments and deliverables back to our country,” said spokeswoman Anna Kelly.
Wiles and Blair did not respond to requests seeking comment. A spokeswoman for Vance declined to comment.
The concerns about Trump’s priorities are not new, as his focus on foreign policy predates the Venezuela operation. In recent weeks he has made veiled threats to invade Greenland and Panama, bombed targets in Syria and Nigeria, and pushed for peace between Ukraine and Russia.

But the officials say the concerns have taken on greater urgency as the administration enters a pivotal election year, when the White House had planned to shift more aggressively toward domestic messaging and travel.
Trump, who campaigned on curbing inflation, has recently said the issue of affordability is a Democratic “hoax.”
In multiple White House meetings focused on the economy since November, officials have shown him polling, surveyzs and social media posts highlighting voters’ concerns about the cost of living and his handling of the economy and have urged him to focus his public remarks on economic issues, the White House officials said.

Trump, one official said, has countered that the economy is strong, warned that focusing on it could play into a Democratic trap to downplay his achievements and maintained that high inflation stems from his predecessor Joe Biden’s policies.
After the President announced on Saturday that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela, Republican lawmakers inundated the White House with calls insisting the “only country Trump should be running is the United States,” one official said.