'Drill, baby, drill': Donald Trump hails US oil boost, calls Venezuela 'new friend and partner'

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) reiterated his “drill, baby, drill” push for the country, as he highlighted rising energy outputs. Addressing the 2026 State of the Union, he went on to describe Venezuela as America’s new “friend and partner.”

Trump said, "American natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill," adding, "American oil production is up by more than 600,000 barrels a day."




Highlighting imports from Venezuela, he added, "We just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil." During the address, Trump also claimed petrol prices had fallen to below $2.30 per gallon in most states. However, according to AAA, the national average stood at $2.95 per gallon as of Tuesday — down from $3.14 a year earlier but still higher than the president’s figure.

He further said that the country was set for a "turnaround for the ages," as he sought to counter weak poll numbers and growing challenges ahead of key midterm elections.

Earlier in January, Trump suggested that Washington's ties were improving with Caracas. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he said that US was working “along really well” with Venezuela’s leadership after Maduro’s capture. “Venezuela is really working out well. We're working along really well with the leadership, and we'll see how it all works out,” Trump said.

He added that Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, had asked the United States if it could "take 50 million barrels of oil." "I said, 'yes, we can' — that's $4.2 billion, and it's on its way right now to the United States,” Trump said.

Last month, Trump had ordered the seizure of socialist leader Maduro on allegations of drug trafficking and other crimes. Following that move, Washington eased oil sanctions on Venezuela in a bid to boost output.