The President of the United States, Donald Trump, threw a glass of water on the ground during an event at the Peterbilt truck plant in Denton, Texas, on Thursday, to illustrate his argument that saving small amounts of fuel is absurd when, according to him, his country could control more than half of the world's oil by adding Venezuela's reserves.
“By adding Venezuela, we will have 58% of the world's fuel. Saving a glass of fuel like this is ridiculous,” declared Trump before dropping the glass and spilling the water in front of the gathered audience at the plant.
The president also criticized the energy consumption control systems that existed prior to his administration: "They had computers everywhere, and it didn't work well. It was terrible," he stated, in an implicit reference to the vehicle efficiency standards that his government has just dismantled.
At the end of September, the Trump administration finalized a reduction in federal fuel efficiency standards, lowering the fleet target for 2031 from 50.4 miles per gallon—the Biden-era standard—to 34.9 miles per gallon, with annual improvements of only 1% compared to the previous 2%.
The event in Denton was part of a campaign tour for the November legislative elections, where Trump endorsed Republican candidates, including Ken Paxton for the Texas Senate. After the event, the president traveled to Durant, Oklahoma, for an additional rally.
Representatives of Peterbilt and its parent company PACCAR attributed the creation of approximately 1,000 jobs and a production of around 200 trucks daily at the Denton plant to Trump's tariff policies.
The figure of 58% is not new in the presidential discourse. Trump repeated it before the United Nations General Assembly in September, amidst intense diplomatic and energy-related activity linked to Venezuela.
In August, he announced what he described as "the largest oil deal in history": an agreement that would grant the private company North American Blue Energy Partners access to 17 strategic fields in the Orinoco Oil Belt, with proven reserves of about 65 billion barrels and a projected investment exceeding 100 billion dollars.
The diplomatic context surrounding these statements is equally significant. On September 23, Trump and the Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez met for the first time in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as "short but important," focusing on debt restructuring, economic stabilization, and political transition. Rodríguez referred to it as "historic."
However, a subsequent survey showed that 91% rejected that meeting among Venezuelans, reflecting the deep mistrust of the population towards any agreement between Washington and the Chavista regime led by Rodríguez after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
Experts consulted by Bloomberg and other media have pointed out that the simplification of "58% of the world's fuel" is technically debatable: Venezuelan crude is predominantly heavy and sour, more useful for diesel and asphalt than for gasoline, which limits its direct impact on the supply of fuels for transportation.
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