As if his humiliation was not complete, Nicolás Maduro is facing a new charge: copying Donald Trump’s dance moves.
The US president on Tuesday accused the ousted Venezuelan leader, who faces terrorism and drug trafficking charges, of imitating Trump’s signature hip-swaying and stiff arm-waving.
“He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit,” Trump told a gathering of congressional Republicans in Washington.
The jibe appeared to reference a report that Maduro’s regular public dancing – he appeared on stage to a techno remix of his mantra “No War, Yes Peace” – and other displays of nonchalance in recent weeks contributed to the White House’s decision to abduct him.
The late Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor and role model, frequently danced at rallies, but Trump’s team felt Maduro was mocking a buildup of US military force and demands for him to step down, according to the New York Times.
US forces seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a raid on Saturday that left dozens dead and stunned Venezuela’s government but left it in place.
Trump’s comments appeared designed to add to Maduro’s humiliation a day after his arraignment hearing at a federal court in Manhattan.
Speaking at the rebranded Trump-Kennedy Centre in Washington, the US president also made darker accusations about Venezuela’s deposed dictator. “He’s a violent guy, and he’s killed millions of people. He’s tortured – they have a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they’re closing up.” Trump did not elaborate on this claim.
Trump has faced widespread scorn for his dancing at rallies, including to the disco song YMCA, but supporters have lauded and copied it.
The president said his wife, Melania, considered his signature moves to be unpresidential. “She hates it when I dance. I said, ‘everybody wants me to dance, darling’.”
He said the first lady replied: “They don’t like it. They’re just being nice to you.”
Trump told her she was wrong. “The place goes crazy. They’re screaming, ‘Dance, please!’”
