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Featured Image Credit: Bonnie Cash / Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, US News
Phoebe Tonks
Donald Trump baffled members of the press and people at home when he was spotted wearing a cartoon pin of himself to a crucial meeting with oil executives on Friday (January 9).
The unconventional pin, which featured a caricature of the president, was pinned to Trump’s lapel beneath his pin of the American flag, throughout his meeting with oil executives to discuss the future of Venezuela.
Yet while many critics on social media had jumped to the conclusion that it was Trump’s ego hard at work, the reason behind the unconventional accessory was later revealed in an address to the media.
"Somebody gave me this. You know what that is? It's called a 'Happy Trump'," the president began.
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"Considering the fact I'm never happy, I'm never satisfied. I will never be satisfied until we make America great again but we're getting pretty close. Somebody gave it to me, so I put it on."
Yet while the accessory bore the moniker of 'happy Trump', the same couldn’t be said for the man himself after he failed to secure the $10 billion investment he had hoped to achieve.
None of the oil and gas companies present at Friday’s meeting felt comfortable pledging their investment into Venezuela when so much uncertainty remained in place around the stability of the country and the likelihood of adequate returns.
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"It’s uninvestible," ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told officials in a blunt evaluation of the obstacles such a business deal would face. "There are a number of legal and commercial frameworks that would have to be established to even understand what kind of returns we would get on the investment."
Even oil investor Harold Hamm, a major Trump donor, was reluctant to commit to any deal at this stage, stating: "It’s got its challenges. There’s a huge investment that needs to be done, we’ve all agreed on that, and certainly we need time to see that through."
The lack of security guarantees to enforce the safety of any staff or equipment in the country, should a deal be made, was one of the core issues weighing heavily on many investors' minds.
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The sustainability of any deal was also called into question, with many wondering if Trump could guarantee that any deal he strikes with companies will remain in force beyond his presidency.
Trump took command of the South American nation last weekend, following the capture and extradition of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
The reasons behind the arrest had always been touted as cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and his alleged partnership with cartels designated as terrorist groups.
Yet some critics have argued that the arrest was not about criminal activity at all, but about gaining access to the country’s vast mineral deposits and oil reserves.
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So far, five Venezuelan tankers have been seized by the US and follows on from Trump’s claims that the US is taking over the sales of 30 to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
The intention is to 'return the wealth to the Venezuelan people', however, the president has also expressed a desire to bolster US funds too.