Trump: not true strikes within Venezuela, working ALL WEEKEND; ELON MUSK: illegals voter cut off

President Trump denied reports he’s considering strikes within Venezuela, confirmed he’s working all weekend in Florida on “economics of America” (not on vacation), and announced approximately $3 trillion in deal flow from his Asia trip. NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani responded to cultural backlash about his eating habits by recounting a moment with a New Yorker in Jackson Heights who related to eating biryani with his hands — Mamdani’s framework: “literally the entire global south eats with their hands.” Mamdani also made the “we believe in Somalia” framework for a Columbus, Ohio rally event. Elon Musk, interviewed on Joe Rogan, explained Democrats’ shutdown motivation: they’re fighting to preserve “hundreds of billions of dollars” in financial incentives that attract and retain illegal immigrants — if that funding is cut off, “the illegals will leave because they’re no longer being paid to come to the United States and stay here” — and Democrats would then lose their imported voter base. Musk: “The Democratic Party wants to destroy democracy by importing voters.” Trump on Venezuela: “No, it’s not true.” On Asia: “We took in approximately $3 trillion over the last few days from the trips that we made.” Musk: “The reason you have this standoff is because if the hundreds of billions of dollars to create a financial incentive to have this giant magnet to attract illegals from every part of Earth to these states, if that is turned off, the illegals will leave.”

Venezuela Strikes Denial

A reporter asked Trump directly: “You are considering strikes within Venezuela? Is that true?”

“No.”

“But you made a decision on that?”

“No, it’s not true.”

Trump’s denial was flat. Reports had circulated claiming the administration was weighing direct military strikes inside Venezuelan territory against Maduro regime assets or Tren de Aragua targets. Trump shut the speculation down.

The context: U.S. strikes on drug boats in international waters and near the Venezuelan coast had become routine. Speculation escalated to whether land-based strikes were being considered. Trump’s denial indicated operations would remain maritime, not land.

Florida Working Weekend

“Getting down to Florida. I have a lot of meetings there. Lunches, meetings, a lot of things. We have to deal with the economics of America.”

Trump’s framework: the Florida trip is work, not vacation. The distinction mattered because his critics had accused him of vacation during the shutdown.

“We took in approximately $3 trillion over the last few days from the trips that we made.”

The $3 trillion figure referenced combined deal value from the Asia trip:

• Toyota: $10B+ U.S. auto plants
• Malaysia: trade deal with multi-sector investments
• Japan: various bilateral agreements
• South Korea: Samsung, Hyundai, defense and trade
• China framework: avoids $100B+ tariff impact

The combined number aggregates direct investment commitments, trade flow increases, and related economic activity. Actual cash in hand is much less, but future-committed value reaches $3T+.

”China Deal Wonderful”

“And we’re unbelievable. The deal with China is going to be wonderful. The deal is going to be long-lasting. I got really along with President Xi very well as you saw.”

Trump’s framework on China:

• Deal will be wonderful
• Deal will be long-lasting
• Personal rapport with Xi was strong

The framework: short-term transaction plus long-term relationship. Neither side walked away declaring victory, but the framework deal that avoided the November 1 tariff crisis was real.

Mamdani Somalia Event

The transcription shifted to footage from a Columbus, Ohio rally — “Lift one another. We are working all the way here today. I’ve lifted one another because we believe in Somalia. We believe in unity. That’s why we are here today.”

The “We believe in Somalia” framing at a Columbus, Ohio rally was for a Somali-American political candidate. Columbus has one of the largest Somali-American populations in the U.S. (~50,000+). Campaign events in Somali-American communities legitimately reference Somalia connection.

Critics noted the framing — U.S. political rallies typically frame around American unity or state/local identity, not foreign country identification.

“So to that I say make sure you are registered to vote. Make sure that you are engaged for the next few months. I will need a lot of volunteers to help me knock doors to continue to collect signatures.”

Standard campaign turnout messaging.

Mamdani on Biryani

The transcript shifted to NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani addressing a controversy about his eating habits. “And their number one issue is whether or not I eat biryani with my hands. It shows you the disconnect.”

Mamdani had been criticized for footage showing him eating biryani with his hands. Critics framed it as cultural foreignness; supporters noted eating with hands is standard in South Asian, Middle Eastern, and many African cultures.

“And also the fact that everybody eats with their hands. Whether you’re eating chicken wings or burgers or pizza or biryani or whatever it is.”

Mamdani’s logical counter: Americans routinely eat wings, burgers, and pizza with their hands. Eating biryani (a rice dish) with hands is cultural but not different in kind from American hand-eating foods.

Jackson Heights Encounter

“But the thing that’s actually been… I would say kind of like a silver lining of it is I was in Jackson Heights not too long ago. I was in Diversity Plaza.”

Jackson Heights is a Queens neighborhood with extensive South Asian population. Diversity Plaza is a Latin-South Asian commercial district.

“I’m walking across the Plaza. And there’s a man who’s driving his car. And I can see his car starts to jerk because he’s trying to put it in park and get out at the same time.”

The image is vivid — a driver spotting Mamdani, excited enough to awkwardly park and jump out to approach him.

“He talked to me. And he finally gets it. And he goes, I also eat with my hands. I was like, that’s great. Have you been this great? Many of us do. And he was like, let’s take a photo. I was like, amazing.”

The encounter: a constituent specifically sharing that he too eats with his hands — framing the “scandal” as a point of connection rather than disqualification.

”Global South Eats With Hands”

“Literally. Because news flash to the western world. Literally the entire global south eats with their hands. The majority of the world eats that way.”

Mamdani’s broader framework: the majority of humanity eats with hands. Western cutlery-only conventions are the minority globally. Treating hand-eating as strange reveals Western ethnocentrism, not Mamdani’s cultural foreignness.

Musk on Shutdown Motivation

Musk, speaking with Joe Rogan, explained the shutdown’s real dynamic. “The reason you have this standoff is because if the hundreds of billions of dollars to create a financial incentive to have this giant magnet to attract illegals from every part of Earth to these states, if that is turned off, the illegals will leave because they’re no longer being paid to come to the United States and stay here.”

Musk’s framework: illegal immigration is economically motivated. U.S. policies create financial incentives (welfare access, healthcare subsidies, educational benefits) that function as a magnet. Remove the magnet, the flow reverses.

“The illegals will leave because they’re no longer being paid to come to the United States and stay here."

"Democrats Lose Voters”

“And then they will lose a lot of voters. The Democratic Party will lose a lot of voters.”

Musk’s political analysis: illegal immigrant populations — whether voting directly in some states, affecting redistricting counts (census), or creating paths to eventual voting through children born in the U.S. — benefit Democrats electorally.

“And they would have a very difficult job if this is kicked out of reintroducing it into a new bill.”

The practical point: once the subsidies are cut off and populations reduce, it’s politically difficult to restore them. The political map shifts; constituencies change; previous legislation becomes harder to pass.

“Yes. Especially once things start normalizing."

"Destroy Democracy by Importing Voters”

“So like in a nutshell, the Democratic Party wants to destroy democracy by importing voters.”

Musk’s summary: the Democratic Party’s long-term strategy is to import voters through illegal immigration. The electoral math: new populations tend to register Democratic in subsequent generations, permanently tilting state politics.

“And the Republican Party disagrees with that.”

Republicans oppose the strategy because the outcome is permanent Democratic dominance via demographic engineering.

“And the ruse is that if you don’t accept what they’re doing, then you’re a threat to democracy.”

The rhetorical inversion: Democrats frame their importing-voters strategy as “democratic values” (inclusive, diverse, welcoming). Republicans opposing it are framed as “threats to democracy.”

“As they try to destroy democracy.”

“Yes. By importing voters. That is literally what they’re doing. And it’s incentivizing people to only vote for them and overwhelming the system."

"Strategy Would Work”

“Yes. And by the way, it’s a strategy that if allowed to work, would work. And in fact, has worked. California’s super majority Democrat.”

Musk’s case study: California went from Republican-controlled in the 1980s (Reagan’s home state) to super-majority Democratic today. The demographic shift from migration (legal and illegal), combined with gerrymandering, created permanent Democratic dominance.

“Yeah. And there’s so much gerrymandering that that that occurs. It’s crazy.”

California specifically has produced congressional maps that lock in Democratic seats despite substantial Republican vote shares. The combination of population shift and deliberate map drawing makes the state politically one-party.

Significance

The shutdown had always been described as being about “healthcare for illegal immigrants” in Republican framing. Musk’s version was more explicit: it’s not just about current healthcare benefits. It’s about the broader political economy of illegal immigration — subsidies, welfare, services that maintain the immigrant population in the U.S.

If those subsidies stop, the population decreases (return migration, or at minimum lower immigration). Democrats’ long-term electoral strategy — demographic change producing permanent Democratic majorities — collapses.

This explains why Democrats are willing to endure shutdown political damage. Short-term pain is acceptable because the alternative is long-term political extinction in states they currently dominate through demographic engineering.

Key Takeaways

• Trump on Venezuela: “You are considering strikes within Venezuela?” “No, it’s not true.”
• Trump on Asia deals: “We took in approximately $3 trillion over the last few days from the trips that we made. And we’re unbelievable. The deal with China is going to be wonderful. The deal is going to be long-lasting.”
• Mamdani on biryani controversy: “Their number one issue is whether or not I eat biryani with my hands. It shows you the disconnect. And also the fact that everybody eats with their hands. Whether you’re eating chicken wings or burgers or pizza or biryani … Literally the entire global south eats with their hands. The majority of the world eats that way.”
• Musk on shutdown cause: “The reason you have this standoff is because if the hundreds of billions of dollars to create a financial incentive to have this giant magnet to attract illegals from every part of Earth to these states, if that is turned off, the illegals will leave because they’re no longer being paid to come to the United States and stay here.”
• Musk on strategy: “The Democratic Party wants to destroy democracy by importing voters. And the Republican Party disagrees with that. And the ruse is that if you don’t accept what they’re doing, then you’re a threat to democracy … California’s super majority Democrat … there’s so much gerrymandering.”