Art Garfunkel says he’s weighing a move out of the U.S. under Trump

Folk singer Art Garfunkel says he is seriously weighing a move out of the United States, citing his opposition to President Trump’s administration on issues ranging from climate policy to Venezuela.

“I’m not aboard, and I’m thinking of leaving the country, frankly,” the Simon & Garfunkel singer told an interviewer, pointing to global warming and world poverty among his broader concerns about the country’s direction.

Mr. Garfunkel, 84, also cited the administration’s handling of Venezuela, questioning how the U.S. could effectively “take over a country and run it,” though he added that he still holds out hope for a change in leadership down the road.

His remarks come roughly eight months after Mr. Trump announced that U.S. forces had seized Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in a military operation and flown him to New York to face charges. Mr. Trump described the operation as having “captured and flown out of the Country” both Mr. Maduro and his wife.

Since then, the administration has moved to deepen U.S. involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector. Mr. Trump announced late last month that his administration had struck an agreement with Caracas granting American interests majority control over 17 oil fields holding an estimated 65 billion barrels in reserves. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Caracas last week to sign additional agreements building on that framework, including deals with Chevron and Italy’s Eni. Mr. Wright said the arrangements are meant to “bring peace, opportunity and prosperity to the people of Venezuela.”

Mr. Garfunkel, who turns 85 in November, has largely avoided overt political statements over his decades-long career, apart from lending his song “America” to Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. He remains on tour in the U.S. ahead of a run of U.K. dates this fall.