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Vice president Mike Pence has said Donald Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will not stand by while Venezuela crumbles.

Speaking from Colombia in an interview with NBC Newscorrespondent Peter Alexander, the vice president addressed the ongoing issues in Venezuela and Trumps threatened military intervention in the country.

POTUS has made clear we're not going to stand by while Venezuela crumbles, while Venezuela collapses, Pence told NBC News on Monday.

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His comments come just days after Trump told reporters in a question and answer session that he would not rule out military action, in a statement that was immediately criticized by some lawmakers in Venezuela.

"The people are suffering and they are dying. We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary," Trump said, in comments branded craziness by Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.

Over the past week, the situation in Venezuela has deteriorated, as anti-government forces took weapons from a military base after the opposition-controlled Congress found its authority undermined by a new legislative body.

And at the end of a volatile week for the country, Venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro asked to speak with Trump, in a request that appeared to be rejected by the president, the White House said, with Trump reportedly stating there could be a conversation between the pair when democracy was restored to the country.

And it also emerged over the weekend that Florida senator Marco Rubio is believed to be the subject of a death threat from leading Venezuelan lawmaker Diosdado Cabello, after the threat was detected by U.S. intelligence.

A memo obtained by The Miami Herald on Sunday showed there was an order to have Senator Marco Rubio assassinated, although it also acknowledged that no specific information regarding an assassination plot against Senator Rubio has been garnered thus far.

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Mike Pence Pledges Donald Trump Will Not 'Stand By as Venezuela Crumbles' - Newsweek

Despite his huge rallies, President Trumps core base appears to be faltering. Buzz60

President Trump speaks to the press on August 11, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.(Photo: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images)

There's trouble in Trumpland.

The voters who backed Donald Trump like the disruption but are looking for more function from the outsider they helped put in the White House, members of the USA TODAY Network Trump Voter Panel say.

While they still approve of the job President Trump is doing, the collapse of the GOP's promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act has rattled some of his loyalists. Sohave chaos in the White House staff and the public humiliation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"All the bickering, fighting and firings taketime away from solving all of our problems," worried Joe Canino, 62, of Hebron, Ct.

"Thecaveat or the pause there is, he's got to figure out a way to get more done collaboratively with CapitolHill," Barney Carter of St. Marys, Ga.,said. "The Hill to me has the most to blame for it, but he's got to figure out a way to solve that problem."

The loyalty of the president's base voters who tend to be older, socially conservative and mostly white has been a critical source of hispolitical strength. Trump continues to hammer messages that appeal to them on such issues as limiting immigration and reversing Pentagon policy on transgender troops.

That said, the spiderweb of concern among his supporters in these interviews is an anecdotal finding consistent with the results of recent nationwide polls. ACNN survey at the six-month mark of Trump's presidency last week showed his approval rating among Republicansat a healthy 83%, but the percentage of Republicans who "strongly approve" haddropped by double-digits, to 59% from 73% in February.

None of the 25 voters on the USA TODAY panel expressregret for casting a ballot last November for Trump instead of Democrat Hillary Clinton or someone else. They generally trust him to handle the crisis with North Korea, although there is concern about his bellicose rhetoric.

But now some couch their approval of the president with a hedge that wasn't there in three previous rounds of interviews with this group. And their disdain for congressional Republicans and the GOP establishment is rising, a troubling development for the party as it heads into the 2018 midterm elections.

"I approve, but not 100%," Monty Chandler, 46, a disabled veteran from Church Point, La., said of the president.

"I'd have to approve, but with some laughter in the background," said Duane Gray, 63, a truck driver from Boise, Idaho. Asked if Trump was doing better or worse than he expected as president, he said:"I don't know what I expected. I just didn't want Hillary in there."

Another new poll means another new low for President Trump. Buzz60

There's also bit less confidence these days about how history will judge Trump. In January, 21 members of the panel predicted he ultimately would be seen as a "great" or "good" president. In February, there was even more unanimity: 23 gave thatpositive assessment.

Now that number has slipped to 19 still favorable territory, but with signs of some erosion. Four predict he'll be seen as a "fair" president. Twodidn't respond.

Read previous stories on the USA TODAY Network Trump Voter Panel:

Trump voters like the president's actions but not his tweets

Great expectations: These Trump voters expect him to deliver for them

No regrets: 100% approval at 100 days from these Trump voters

The panel of 25 Trump voters from 19 states is drawn from respondents in the USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll taken in December, just after the election. The group of 18 men and seven women, ranging in age from 31 to 88, agreed to weigh in occasionally for a look at how Trump is faring with his supporters.

The GOP's failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act has enraged some of these voters.

"Killing Obamacare was a key component of the Republican platform, and I believe all Republican senators campaigned on that very issue," Daniel Kohn, of Corpus Christi, Tex., said. "The inability to move forward is embarrassing and disgusting."

For Ken Cornacchione, a 65-year-old financial consultant from Venice, Fla., the issue is personal. "My premiums have doubled and my deductible has increased nearly three times under Obamacare with no claims by either my wife or me," he said.

Asked whom they blame for the failure, not one singled out Trump, although several volunteeredthat everyone involved ownedsome responsibility. Only a handful cited congressional Democrats or the news media, frequent targets of Trump.

Instead, a solid majority placedthe responsibility squarely on congressional Republicans.

"There's some blame to go around with everybody, but I continue to be the most disappointed in Congress," said Carter, 50, who works for a medical device firm."We could have had a plan for this long before Trump was elected, and you would have just had to go to the bookshelf and pull the binder off."

"Seven years: Think about it," railedJoAnne Musial, 65, of Canadenis, Penn."Who are they kidding, too? This whole baloney with all of them any more makes me sick to my stomach."

That sentiment helps explain Trump's Twitter blasts last week at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The attacks may complicate White House efforts down the road to work with the Kentucky Republican on raising the debt ceiling, funding the government and passing a tax bill.

At the moment, though, they reinforce the sentiment that Republican senators, not the president, areto blame for the stunning setback on health care.

"They've been talking about this for seven years, show-boating for seven years passing resolutions they knew (President Barack) Obama would veto," said Rick Dammer, 45, a an IT project manager from Zephyrhills, Fla. "When the rubber needed to hit the road, they chickened out."

"I like that Trump said that," Chandler said of the president's comments welcoming Obamacare's demise. "He's not going to sugarcoat it. You made your bed, now lie in it."

On North Korea, Trump voters like policymakers and experts and nearly everyone else around the globe see no easy answers and worry about what's ahead. Theyare inclined to trust Trump to handle it, albeit not without some nervousness.

"I'm in agreement with how Trump's approached it, kind of," said Francis Smazal, 54, a registered nurse from Marshfield, Wis. "If this guy (in North Korea) is left unchecked, I believe conflict is inevitable."

Several said they hope Trump tries to build an international coalition through the United Nations, or with China and Russia. "I think we need to go through China," said Patricia Shomion, 67, of Mount Gilead, Ohio. She blames Beijing, North Korea's neighbor and ally, for not doing more to block its nuclear program. "That's our solution, becauseall of those nukes and missiles have 'China' written all over them, 'Made in China.'"

But Pat Jolliff, 60, of Rochester, Ind., worriedthat Trump's threat of "fire and fury" riskedmaking a bad situation worse. "I think his words, once again, are some of his worst enemies," she said. "He comes across as a bully, a tyrant, somebody who always has to have his way."

The belief that Trump isn't just another politician, that he has a combative style and is comfortable breaking old norms, is his fundamental appeal for many of his supporters. "Everyone's having a hissy (fit) because a politician isn't the president," scoffed Musial."Cut and dried: He's not a politician and doesn't fit in (your) little clique here, so they're trying to cause a ruckus for him."

"Trump is a different kind of person; he's not a politician," Shomion agreed. "They're not used to that. They don't know what to do with him."

But the continuing soap-opera drama onthe White House staff is worrisome to some: Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, out. Press secretary Sean Spicer, out. ("A sweetheart," Musial said affectionately.) Communications director Anthony Scaramucci: In, then out after 11 days. ("He was horrible," Jolliff said.)

"I am somewhat concerned with all the tension," saidWayne Moore, 60, a procurement manager from Henderson, Ky. "It looks like there are more chiefs than Indians."

Several volunteered dismay over Trump's public humiliation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"I was very disappointed in the way he ripped up Jeff Sessions, who was basically the first one to sign up" to support Trump's candidacy, Carter said. "He's a long-tenured, respected lawmaker, and it just didn't make sense to me."

David McDonough, of Brownsburg, Ind., says he voted for President Trump but considers himself an independent.(Photo: Mykal McEldowney, USA TODAY Network)

David McDonough, 55, a plumber from Brownsburg, Ind., predicted things eventually would settle down. "It's like taking over a new business and some employees don't like the way you run things," he said. "In time, once the kinks are worked out and the leakers are found, I believe the White House will run smooth."

Then there are those tweets.

Some supporters say the president's thoughts in 140-character bursts make them wince. "He comes out looking like a damn fool 60% of the time," Gray said.

But by more than 2-1, his loyalists say he should continue posting on Twitter and acknowledge that he's not likely to stop, no matter what they think.

"I don't necessarily agree on what he's saying, but if Twitter is the only way to get the truth out and the truth only comes from him, then that's OK," Steven Spence, 70, of Mesa, Arizona, said. "He either lives or dies by the sword, and we'll find out four years from now how the American public rates him."

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Trouble in Trumpland: The president's core supporters begin to worry - USA TODAY

But at least one key Republican remains firmly in his corner.

On Sunday night, Vice President Mike Pencecondemned the violence in Virginia, praised Trumps response to the situation, then slammed the media for its reaction to the presidents statement blamingmany sides instead of white supremacists.

We have no tolerance for hate and violence, white supremacists or neo-Nazis or the KKK, Pence said, according to The Hill. He said Trumpclearly and unambiguously condemned the violence.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Pence, who is currently in Colombia, also took aim at the press for raising questions about Trumps response after the president not only refused to condemn the neo-Nazis and KKK on Saturday but walked out when reporters asked about white nationalists.

I take issue with the fact that many in the national media spent more time criticizing the presidents words than they did criticizing those that perpetuated the violence to begin with, Pence was quoted as saying.

However, the issue wasnt just raised by the media.

The white supremacists themselves were heartened by Trumps response, with one neo-Nazi website praising it as really, really good.

The White House later issued a second statement about Charlottesville on Sunday that condemned all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred and specifically mentioned white supremacists, KKK, Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.

That statement was attributed to a spokesperson and not to Trump himself.

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Mike Pence Defends Donald Trump, Slams Media Over Charlottesville Response - HuffPost

Donald Trump has come under fire for his response to the violent Charlottesville white supremacist rally, and he couldnt have had a different reaction to that of former president Barack Obama.

While President Trump failed to mention racism or white supremacy in his statement on the matter, Obama quoted the late Nelson Mandela in his apparent response to the violence.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion," Obama wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

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People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. - Nelson Mandela.

But while Obama referenced the anti-apartheid leader, Trump was criticized for failing to acknowledge the clearly racist element of the protests.

In a statement, Trump said: We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides. On many sides. It's been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. This has been going on for a long, long time."

Responding to the criticism, the White House attempted to issue reassurances that Trump intended to send an anti-racist message.

The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremists groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together," a White House spokesman said in a statement.

But other leaders reacted very differently to the attack, which left three people dead including one woman who was killed after a car rammed into a group of counter-protesters at speed.

We know Canada isn't immune to racist violence & hate. We condemn it in all its forms & send support to the victims in Charlottesville, Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Sunday, in another response that differed greatly to that of the U.S. president.

Continued here:
Obama's Reaction To the Charlottesville Rally Was Very Different from Trump's - Newsweek

Americans love celebrities. Americans hate politicians.

Those sentiments gave us Donald Trump, fresh from the set of The Apprentice, and proudly unschooled in the art of politics. The sheer entertainment factor of his presidency has everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for the next episode.

Hes opened the door to other celebrities with an urge for elective office. Kid Rock is toying with a Senate bid in Michigan. Cynthia Nixon of Sex in the City fame is floating a possible challenge to New York Governor Cuomo in next years Democratic primary. And Michael Moore from his perch on Broadway with a new show says Democrats should nominate Tom Hanks for president in 2020.

Its not crazy to detect a rising trend of celebrity as a credential for entering politics at a very high level, says Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, but its not a sufficient codicil for political success, or even a necessary codicil.

Its also a mistake to see Trump simply as a celebrity, says Galston. Celebrity was the platform on which he built his campaign, but he ran on trade, immigration, and an America First foreign policy. He didnt say vote for me, Im a celebrity; he said vote for me, I happen to be a celebrity with ideas and feelings that match your own. Not a bad idea to have me on your side.

Celebrity has always been a big advantage in terms of name recognition, thoughat least until recentlycandidates needed a certain degree of credibility. Ronald Reagan was president of a union, the Screen Actors Guild. Arnold Schwarzenegger chaired the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness. Even Trump could claim hes run an international business.

For someone like Kid Rock, this is the new generation, says Jack Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. Youre inviting voters to express an attitude rather than choose a qualified public servant.

Kid Rocks Senate page says hes beyond overwhelmed with response from community leaders, D.C. pundits, and blue collar folks tired of the extreme left and right bullshit. He says hell hold a press conference in the next six weeks or so, and that if he decides to throw his hat in the ring for the Senate next year, believe me it will be game on mthrfkers.

The McCain campaign in 2008a long ago, perhaps simpler timetried to get its game on by attacking Barack Obama as a celebrity candidate with an ad that cut between Obama before a huge crowd in Berlin and shots of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton as a female narrator confides, Hes the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?

Obama strategist David Axelrod recalled the strategy behind the ad as a kind of jujitsu to try and turn the outsized interest and energy he was attracting against him.

That failed, Axelrod said in an email, not only because Obama was a serious person who had thought deeply about the issues and sealed the deal with his performance in the first debate, but, also because McCains nomination of Sarah Palin really robbed him of his standing to launch the undeserving novice argument against Obama.

The ad did strike a nerve, just not the one McCain wanted. Hilton, the hotel heiress whose parents helped bankroll McCain, had a clever comeback. Hey, America, Im Paris Hilton and Im a celebrity too, she said in her own spoof ad posted days later. Only I am not from the olden days and I am not promising change like that other guy. I am just hot.

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But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad. Which I guess means I am running for presidentso thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude. And I want America to know that I am, like, totally ready to lead.

The idea of a wrinkly, white-haired guy from outside of Washington running the country is nothing new, with voters and pundits talking for decades about having a CEO as commander in chief. Ross Perot had a good run in 1992 with his charts, infomercials, and warnings of a giant, sucking sound if NAFTA became law. Three-term New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg encouraged endless talk of a run of his own, before deciding in each of the last three elections that there was no way for him to win a campaign.

Lee Iacocoa, the president of Ford and then-chairman of Chrysler, had a familiar-sounding rant in his 2007 book, Where Have all the Leaders Gone?:

Am I the only guy in this country whos fed up with whats happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. Weve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state over a cliff, weve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we cant even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, Stay the course. Stay the course? Youve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. Ill give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

Now, the bums have been thrown out, the bar for a president lowered, and its not going well at all so far for President Trump.

Going forward, he will raise the bar, says Bob Shrum, a veteran consultant of Democratic presidential campaigns. Our experience with Trump means that if a celebrity runs, they better instill confidence that theyre competent, responsible, know what theyre talking about and wont embarrass us.

Shrum added that, Business people get a little bit of a pass on what they can do, and he might change that too.

Axelrod agrees, writing in an email: Certainly, celebrity is valuable in an environment in which its hard to break through and traditional politicians are held in such low esteem. Trump proved that with his march to the White House [as] the best known and least experienced person to run and win. But Trumps ascent, and subsequent problems, may well make celebrity candidacies harder for the foreseeable future, if people come to value experience more.

Fixating on any single credential as the magic formula can backfire. John Kerry stood before the Democratic Convention in 2004 to accept the nomination and said, Reporting for Duty. He wagered that his distinguished service in Vietnam would help him vanquish an incumbent president. Instead, his war record was turned against him, and the veterans he wanted to win over pilloried him for turning against that war.

Kerry learned then as Trump is discovering today that when you lean hard on something, it better be really strong. You cant just bring up a piece of your history, not with Special Counsel Mueller rifling through financial records of real estate deals never meant to see the light of day.

Its too soon to know how this turns out for Trump, but its already clear that running the country is not the same as running a business or basking in the celebrity of a reality TV show.

Read more here:
Donald Trump May Only Be the Beginning of the Era of Celebrity Politicians - Daily Beast