Rubio Seeks to Be Trump's Successor by Consolidating His Base

Marco Rubio wants to be Trump's successor and needs his electoral base. According to the American press, the president is very attentive to communicators and influencers in the MAGA sector and often converses with them. Before the attack on Venezuela, Trump made gestures to the most hardline faction of his electorate. In mid-December, he supported Bruce Blackman, a MAGA figure, to be his candidate in the state of New York elections this year. In parallel, the president has confirmed all his officials aligned with the MAGA movement, whose main figure in the White House is Stephen Miller, the chief political advisor to the West Wing. Two of these officials are vital in the bilateral relationship with Mexico: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump needs to consolidate his base for the midterm elections this year. 'While President Trump defends hemispheric defense, Rubio confuses it with the idea of eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah,' it was added. Far-right commentator Candace Owens said that the incursion into Venezuela was orchestrated by 'globalist psychopaths from the CIA'. In turn, MAGA congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Green said, 'This is the same Washington strategy we are tired of, which does not benefit the American people, but large corporations, banks, and oil executives.' The sentiment of the electoral base is key to the Trump government, hence Rubio's rhetoric, which has sought to deny any permanent military deployment in Venezuela. While President Donald Trump insisted this Monday that Washington 'controls' the government of Delcy Rodríguez, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that his country will only intervene in oil matters and in 'seeking changes in the country'. A dissonance that has its roots in the first questions from the 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) movement about military actions in Venezuela. Last month in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he expressed doubts about his possible victory and said he needs time for his economic plan to translate into greater well-being. Since World War II, only two US presidents won the midterm elections: Bill Clinton in 1998 and George W. Bush in 2002. The US government is sending contradictory messages about the future of the Venezuelan crisis. 'The lack of a clear focus on the message about a possible occupation has confused, if not outraged, the base,' declared Stephen Bannon, a former Trump advisor, in an interview.