Why did the U.S. invade and arrest Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro?
-- Secretary of State Marco Rubio says it was a law-enforcement action.
-- Trump says it was a military action. We are taking charge in Venezuela. And Colombia, because it is "very sick, too." And Mexico "had better get their act together." And Cuba "looks like its going down."
Republican are talking about the merits of what Trump did.
Democrats are talking about process. Trump should have gotten sign-offs.
The jumble of contradictory explanations by the administration for why the U.S. arrested Maduro reveal that the U.S. is making policy on the fly. There is widespread support for the result -- Maduro is no longer leader -- but cautious criticism of the process. It leaves questions: Who is in charge? Who keeps order? What about the oil? What about Columbia?
Trump acted. He understood that his domestic political situation was deteriorating. He was starting to feel like Jonathan Swift's Gulliver, tied down by little men. Pip-squeak congressmen were being disloyal. His chief of staff was blurting out secrets. The Supreme Court was acting independently. Epstein, Epstein, Epstein. People looking at his hand and ankles and closed eyes. Jack Smith testified that Trump was guilty. People were talking about what comes after Trump.
Truth Social and Trump's tweets are a window into how Trump wants to be known. Trump and a male lion; kings of the jungles. Face stern. Striding forward.
And this one, from the Situation Room. Lips down. Intent. Cruel. The face of a man who does not tolerate failure.
Then this one. Trump in focus. Rubio out of focus.
Trump images show opponents coming to grief. It isn't just that Trump wins. It is that opponents lose and suffer. They are forced to recognize Trump's primacy.
Trump is strong and masculine. Other presidents are weak.
Democracies like short wars and quick victories. We dropped bombs. We killed 40 nameless Venezuelans, the uncredited extras in the movie drama of Trump winning. Best of all for Trump, Democrats are talking about self-imposed restraints: He should have consulted with Congress; should have consulted with the U.N.; should obey international law. Democrats dither. Trump acts. Trump, like Alexander the Great, cuts through restraints. This is exactly the image and story Trump wants.
He is criminal. He is corrupt. He groped women and very possibly girls, too. He pardons guilty friends and campaign donors. He enriches himself and his family. He ignores the Constitution. He spends money we don't have. He exaggerates and lies. He disrupts markets. He sells out our allies.
So what?
Americans didn't vote for him because he was good. They voted for him because he was strong. He kicks ass and makes America great. Democracies admire leaders who seek glory. The authors of the Constitution recognized this and attempted to protect the new republic against it. Many lived to see their fears confirmed.
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About seven million people died in the Napoleonic Wars, one and a half million of them French. Of the 600,000 French soldiers who marched on Moscow, about 50,000 returned. Napoleon is not remembered as a great villain. He made France proud and feared. Napoleon is honored in death.
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7 comments:
The name of the country Colombia isn't spelled with the letter u. FWIW. I hope that Senator Merkley's town hall this coming Sunday in Ashland won't boil down to multiple people asking him why what we did in Venezuela this past weekend is "legal" (especially when these multiple people already are convinced that it is illegal). Peter, what would be good questions to ask Senator Merkley (and not necessarily about Venezuela or the Trump Kennedy Center)?
I corrected the spelling. Thanks. I am increasingly clear that Democrats need to be known for what t hey are FOR, not the consensus position of what they are against (the many criminal and high-handed things Trump has done that abuse the constitution and our norms of behavior regarding grift, self-dealing, tariffs, etc.) Democrats need to take the hit and be for things that will offend part of their base. Say what they want our immigration policy to be. Say how we should handle trans people in women's sports. Say what they will do to reduce income disparities. (As part of the 10% who owns stocks and a house, I have gotten far richer in dollar terms and probably stayed the same in terms of a basket of world currencies. Everyone else in America, i.e. the 90% has almost certainly gotten poorer, including in the last 11 months. So what are Democrats going to do about it? Capital has gotten richer; labor has gotten poorer. Capital will scream at things that shift that. Jeff's better donors won't like it, either. But either we are going to bend the curve and deal with affordability, or we are going to dither. Which is it????
How can anyone criticize Russia invading Ukraine, when America just invaded Venezuela? How can you criticize China invading Taiwan? Is one event more or less righteous than the other? If Trump doesn't like corrupt world leaders like Maduro, then why is he such good buddies with Xi Jinping and Vlad Putin? They are the worst of the worst. I'm still waiting for Trump to take-out China and Russia. This invasion was done for oil, and not because Maduro is a bad guy.
Trump is serving his masters in the petroleum industry.
Peter is exactly right. I don't think the majority of the electorate gives a rip about the niceties of “international law” or the morality of quick and effective action.
If things in Venezuela go well and are followed, perhaps, by the fall of the Cuban communist regime and (God willing) the Islamic regime of Iran, the politics of the 2026 election may shift away from "affordability" to something more patriotic/nationalistic, like "It's morning (again) in America."
it seems plausible to me that this kind of political consideration was a factor in Donald Trump's decision.
As Peter said:
“[Trump] is criminal. He is corrupt. He groped women and very possibly girls, too. He pardons guilty friends and campaign donors. He enriches himself and his family. He ignores the Constitution. He spends money we don't have. He exaggerates and lies. He disrupts markets. He sells out our allies.”
Only a nation that has abandoned all pretense of conscience or values would respond to that with, “So what?” If that’s what people now mistake for strength, there’s no way for anyone with a moral compass to compete, or for the U.S. to ever live up to its founding principles.
Too many people with supposed “moral principles” buy into anything that the Democrats do, and only complain when Republicans do substantially the same thing. That compass apparently only points in certain directions.
Only a Republican could quit paying lip service to the Constitution and rule of law and still be considered patriotic by his party.
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