Venezuela defeated the United States 3-2 in the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night. It was the country’s first championship in the international baseball tournament.
Team USA was flat for most of the game, trailing 2-0 heading into the eighth inning. Bryce Harper then hit a two-run home run to tie the game, setting up the ninth inning for Venezuela’s dramatic win, when Eugenio Suarez hit what would be a game-winning double to drive in Javier Sanoja for a 3-2 lead. Venezuela’s Daniel Palencia then threw a perfect ninth inning to end the game and win the WBC.
After the victory, President Donald Trump took to social media to tease about making Venezuela the 51st state of the United States.
“STATEHOOD! President DJT” posted on his Truth Social account.
Trump’s post comes a day after his first remarks teasing about making the South American country the newest state, when Venezuela defeated Italy to punch its ticket to the WBC Championship game against the U.S.
“Wow! Venezuela defeated Italy tonight, 4-2, in the WBC (Baseball!) Semifinal,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday night after Venezuela’s win. “They are looking really great. Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”
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Trump’s quip about Venezuela becoming the 51st state is not the first time he mentioned making another sovereign nation or territory as the newest state of the U.S. However, it is a pivot from the early days of the beginning of his second term, when he regularly commented about Canada becoming the 51st state. A year later, amid the geopolitical talk of the U.S. annexing Greenland, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) introduced legislation to make the Danish territory the 51st state of the U.S.
Trump’s remarks about Venezuela appear to be the first time he mentioned a country in a different hemisphere becoming the 51st state.