President Donald Trump is using "a dual approach" to Venezuela, imposing sanctions but offering "an off-ramp" if the country cooperates, former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell told Newsmax TV on Monday.
Trump suggested in an interview with Axios last week he would be open to meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but later backtracked and said he would only meet with Maduro if he agreed to step down.
"First of all, no one should be surprised that the president doesn't want conflict, that he's trying to be strong," Grenell told "American Agenda" on Monday.
"I think that there's actually a dual approach by President Trump, which is really developing into the Trump doctrine," he continued, "which is put very tough economic sanctions and other pressure on countries like North Korea, and Iran, and Venezuela, but also offer a hand to say, 'if you change your behavior, if you're willing to go a different route, we will welcome that change and we'll try to get you into the international community where responsible countries can make responsible decisions.'
"And so, what I like about President Trump is that he's very tough, he keeps the sanctions on and keeps the pressure on these countries, but is also willing to give them an off-ramp."
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