The posts came as Trump travelled to China for high-stakes talks with Xi Jinping and days after he floated the idea of Venezuela becoming a US state.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared a graphic depicting Venezuela as the “51st State” of the United States, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was spotted aboard Air Force One wearing a Nike tracksuit similar to the one former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro wore during his capture earlier this year.
Trump posted the image on his Truth Social platform while en route to China for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The graphic showed a map of Venezuela overlaid with the American flag and labelled “51st State”. The White House reshared the same image on its official X account later.
The post came a day after Trump told Fox News he was considering making Venezuela a new US state, months after US forces captured Maduro in a military operation in Caracas.
Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez had earlier rejected the idea, saying the country had “never” considered becoming America’s 51st state.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 12, 2026
At nearly the same time, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung shared a photograph of Rubio aboard Air Force One wearing a grey Nike Tech tracksuit that social media users linked to the outfit Maduro wore when he was taken into US custody in January.
Trump’s comms director just shared this photo of Sec. Rubio on Air Force One wearing the same track suit that Maduro was captured in. pic.twitter.com/DLD5YtQFHG
— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) May 12, 2026
“Secretary Rubio rocking the Nike Tech ‘Venezuela’ on Air Force One!” Cheung wrote on X. Journalist Kellie Meyer also posted the image, saying Rubio was wearing a tracksuit similar to the one Maduro wore during his capture.
