(Washington) Donald Trump rejoiced on Saturday about his military triumph in Venezuela, after the operation of American forces against President Nicolás Maduro, but this intervention abroad could expose him to strong criticism in the United States.
Published at
Trump has been denouncing American involvement on the international scene for years.
When he called the post-9/11 invasion of Iraq “stupid” a decade ago, Donald Trump laid the foundation for a central tenet of the nationalist and isolationist ideology of his MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) movement.
The series of air attacks on Venezuela during the night from Friday to Saturday and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro therefore represent a risky bet for the Republican. And unsurprisingly, members of the Democratic Party quickly reacted.
The leader of the Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer, described the operation as “irresponsible”.
“Second unjustified war of my life. This war is illegal,” blasted Ruben Gallego, Democratic senator and veteran of Iraq, adding that there was “no reason” for the United States “to be at war with Venezuela.”
Many members of the Republican Party, on the contrary, welcomed the operation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fueled the excitement with a social media post early Saturday morning that simply featured three emojis: a bulging bicep, a fist and a flame.
“I congratulate President Trump, our brave soldiers and law enforcement officers for this incredible operation,” said Republican Representative Tom Cotton.
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives and an essential cog in the Trump political machine, was quick to cut short questions about the legality of the military operation, assuring that it was “decisive and justified” in order to “protect American lives”.
Mr. Johnson made it clear that Congress would not have to meet urgently. Trump administration officials are “working” on organizing meetings that will not take place until next week, he said.
“Neoconservative Wars”
However, there are signs of concern among Republicans.
Shortly after the announcement of the operation carried out in Caracas, conservative senator Mike Lee wrote on X that he was “impatiently waiting to know what (…) could constitutionally justify this action”.
According to him, there was no “declaration of war or authorization to use military force”.
Mike Lee, however, quickly changed his tune, claiming to have spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and to have received assurances that the operation was simply aimed at arresting Nicolás Maduro.
This “presumably falls within the inherent powers” of the president, he noted.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fervent activist in the MAGA movement and longtime supporter of Donald Trump – who recently fell out with the president – was much less forgiving.
In a long message published on the social network
Most of the deadly fentanyl entering the United States comes from Mexico, she said, so “why hasn’t the Trump administration taken action against the Mexican cartels?” “.
Marjorie Taylor Greene made several points likely to resonate with much of the MAGA base, including the difference between forcing regime change in Venezuela and Russian aggression against Ukraine or China’s aggression against Taiwan.
“Disgust” with foreign interventions, spending internationally rather than in the United States and “neoconservative wars”: “many MAGA supporters thought they had voted to end them,” she wrote. “We really got it wrong.”
