President Donald Trump added an unexpected cultural grievance to his list of accusations against Nicolás Maduro: dance theft.
Speaking to congressional Republicans in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, the U.S. president claimed the Venezuelan president tried to imitate his familiar rally dance, a stiff-armed, hip-swaying routine Trump often performs to music.
Highlights
- Trump accused Venezuelan President Maduro of stealing his signature stiff-armed, hip-swaying rally dance moves.
- Maduro’s public dancing to electronic music was seen by the Trump administration as mocking US military threats.
- Trump acknowledged that his wife, Melania, dislikes his dance routine, calling it "not presidential."
“He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit,” Trump said.
Trump alleged that Maduro tried to imitate his rally dancing
Image credits: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
Trump’s jibe about dancing refers to Maduro’s habit of appearing on stage and television dancing to electronic music, including remixes of his own slogans such as “No War, Yes Peace.”
According to U.S. media reports, the White House interpreted these performances as a sign of Maduro mocking Trump. The New York Times reported that Trump believed Maduro was mocking a buildup of U.S. military force, leading to the operation.
Insiders told NYT that Maduro’s “regular public dancing and other displays of nonchalance in recent weeks” led the Trump administration to believe that he had not been taking their threats seriously.
Trump continued, making more claims about Maduro during his speech. “He’s a violent guy, and he’s killed millions of people. He’s tortured, they have a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they’re closing up.”
Trump, meanwhile, has remained a frequent target of mockery for his own dancing at rallies, often set to disco classics like ‘YMCA.’ Yet, his supporters have cheered and copied the moves online.
Trump acknowledged that his wife, Melania Trump, dislikes the routine.
“She hates it when I dance,” Trump recalled during his speech. “I said, ‘Everybody wants me to dance, darling.’”
Trump said the first lady replied, “They don’t like it. They’re just being nice to you.” But Trump told her she was mistaken. “The place goes crazy. They’re screaming, ‘Dance, please!’”
Maduro's dancing made the Trump administration believe he was not taking their threats seriously
Trump continued to quote Melania, “‘It’s not presidential.’ She actually said, ‘Could you imagine FDR [wheelchair-bound President Franklin D. Roosevelt] dancing?’”
Trump also imitated a transgender woman weightlifter, holding his hands by his shoulders, before adding, “My wife hates when I do this.”
On Saturday, the U.S. launched several strikes in Caracas, capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transporting them to New York to face narco-terrorism conspiracy and related federal charges.
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
However, many critics have condemned the action as an unlawful kidnapping designed to engineer regime change and secure greater U.S. access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
The Trump administration has since told the media that it considers itself to be in charge of Venezuela.
In the days leading up to his capture, Maduro appeared to brush aside reports of a U.S. drone strike on a port facility thought to be linked to drug trafficking networks.
Image credits: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
He danced on a stage to music built around his voice, repeating the phrase “no crazy war” in English.
At another public event last month, during the opening of the International School for Women’s Leadership in northern Venezuela, Maduro appeared to mimic fist-pumping gestures similar to those Trump often makes at rallies.
He later danced alongside his wife to an electronic remix of a speech titled, ‘No War, Yes Peace,’ with the lyrics calling for calm between Venezuela and the U.S.
Maduro and his wife have both pleaded not guilty to the charges against them
Image credits: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
After U.S. forces brought Maduro to the U.S., he continued to project a casual attitude. When Drug Enforcement Administration agents escorted him, he wished them a “Happy New Year.”
He posed with his thumbs up while waiting to be transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Maduro and his wife have both pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.