President Donald Trump’s attempt to showcase the art of the deal during a White House meeting with Big Oil chiefs unraveled in real time Friday, as a highly choreographed pitch for a massive expansion of U.S. influence in Venezuela collapsed into a moment so disorienting that a Cabinet secretary h ad to step in and rescue the president on live TV. The sit-down was meant to lay out Trump’s vision following last week’s U.S. military raid that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump told oil executives that he wanted at least $100 billion in private investment poured into Venezuela’s energy sector, promising military security and enormous profits. US President Donald Trump (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting with US oil company executives in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 9, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) Instead, Trump drifted off message and at one point appeared lost — unsure how to proceed next. Trump opened the meeting by declaring that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves would soon be flowing under American control.  ‘Really?!’: Trump Suddenly Turns on His Own Supporters, Floats a Punishment No One Saw Coming — and Viewers Can’t Decide Whether to Laugh or Be Stunned by the Attempt “American companies will have the opportunity to rebuild Venezuela’s rotting energy infrastructure and eventually increase oil production to levels never seen before,” he said, emphasizing that the investment would come from private industry, not taxpayers. “Our giant oil companies will be spending at least $100 billion of their money, not the government’s money. They don’t need government money,” Trump said. “But they need government protection.” But the meeting veered off course with one of Trump’s rambling asides, leading to a joking exchange with ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance about the company’s $12 billion deficit in Venezuela. Trump turned the moment into a punchline, describing expropriations as “a good write-off” then assured the executives they would eventually recoup their losses, saying, “You’ll make it back one way or the other.”  View on Threads That’s when Marco Rubio, seated to his left, passed Trump a handwritten note, apparently urging him to get back on topic. But rather than taking the cue quietly, Trump read the note out loud. “Marco just gave me a note …. Go back to Chevron!” Trump announced. “They want to discuss something. Go ahead. I’m going back to Chevron,” Trump said grinning then slapping Rubio on the back in an apparent attempt to smooth over the misstep. Rubio laughed along, but appeared stunned. Trump then turned toward the Chevron delegation and waited. Nothing happened. “Go ahead,” Trump said again, nodding expectantly as the room fell silent. It became clear that the president had lost his train of thought and could not remember what he had been discussing before the interruption. “Was there a question, Mr. President?” Chevron vice chairman Mark Nelson finally asked. Trump stammered, “Yes. Go ahead, Marco. What was the … What are you saying here?”  He picked up the note again, looking increasingly confused. Rubio remained silent, chuckling nervously, then gestured toward Energy Secretary Chris Wright, signaling for help. Wright quickly stepped in and saved both Trump and Rubio from the embarrassing moment. Next to him, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles leaned back in her chair to get a clearer look at the president, her expression appearing concerned. The episode quickly spread online, igniting criticism that went beyond the substance of Trump’s proposal and focused squarely on his cognition.  View on Threads One reaction read, “I never want to hear ONE MORE THING about Joe Biden’s brain. EVER.” Another added, “Every single person with a family member who has diagnosed cognitive decline has shouted about how Trump is unfit due to his own decline. This is just another example. Pay attention to how Marco folds up the embarrassment then encases it in another folded note after taking it back from Trump. It was clearly not to be read aloud.” Others mocked Trump’s faux pas during a critical meeting. “It’s hilarious because when you’re handed a note you’re not supposed to say it out loud,” one man observed. “Yeah… now I definitely see why their expediting their plans and ramping up faster… they’re running out of time. He’s losing it fast,” said another reaction. Some viewers even zoomed in on Rubio’s facial reaction and captured the exact moment he realized things didn’t go as planned. “IT WAS AT THIS MOMENT HE KNEW HE F***ED UP,” wrote one viewer on Threads. After the moment passed, Trump pivoted back to pressure, issuing what sounded like a warning to companies weighing whether to get involved in Venezuela. “If we make a deal, you will be there a long time. If we don’t make a deal, you won’t be there at all,” Trump said, without naming Chevron directly. View on Threads Trump also claimed Venezuela had already turned over 30 million barrels of oil to the United States, saying the proceeds would flow mainly to the U.S., with some going back to Venezuela. He stressed that oil companies would not benefit because the crude had already been pulled from the ground — a claim that immediately drew skepticism on social media. “So if the oil companies aren’t getting any of the 30million barrels. Who’s going to refine it for use?” one commenter asked on Threads. Two sources close to the oil companies later said they were unaware of any commitment to invest $100 billion, according to the Washington Post. Chevron is currently the only U.S. firm operating in Venezuela, and even executives sympathetic to Trump’s goals are wary of the economic and security risks. Those doubts were underscored by ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, who bluntly described Venezuela as “uninvestable” when Trump asked how long it would take to restart operations. Woods said “significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system, there has to be durable investment protections,” including a rewrite of the country’s oil laws. He committed only to sending a technical team to assess conditions. Critics also questioned the basic premise of Trump’s whirlwind timeline and lofty expectations.  “It will take 10 years to develop those oil fields assuming there’s an oil company stupid enough to go into a unstable country like that Donald Trump will be buried on the third tee by then,” one critic wrote. By the end of the afternoon, Trump had promised vast profits, tight government control, and unprecedented expansion, but left unanswered was whether any major oil company would actually follow through.  ‘He F—d Up!’: Trump Moves to Take Control, Everything Collapses in a Split Second — and the Exact Moment Rubio Realizes He’s in Trouble Is the Clip Everyone’s Replaying ...read more read less