Trump Is an Idiot Spoiling for War. Also, Maduro Is a Bastard.
The enemy of your enemy isn’t always your friend.
1. War Drums
One of the buried nuggets in Vanity Fair’s Susie Wiles epic was her understanding that Trump is seeking regime change in Venezuela:
Over lunch, Wiles told me about Trump’s Venezuela strategy: “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.” (Wiles’s statement appears to contradict the administration’s official stance that blowing up boats is about drug interdiction, not regime change.)
This admission paired with Trump’s Truth Social post last night elucidating his war aims:
I know it’s crazy to treat the president’s words as if they have meaning, but for the sake of argument, let’s pretend that in this case—an ultimatum issued by the POTUS in the midst of ongoing military action—they do. If Trump’s words have meaning, then the policy of the United States that:
(a) The current regime in Venezuela is illegitimate.
(b) U.S. military action against Venezuela will continue until the sovereign state of Venezuela surrenders unspecified resources and territory to the United States.
(c) But since the Maduro regime is illegitimate, the Maduro regime cannot be the party to make such concessions. The current government of Venezuela must be replaced by a government the United States deems legitimate. Then the new government must satisfy America’s demands for territory and resources. And only then will military action against Venezuela cease.
This is a suboptimal way to conduct foreign policy. It is erratic, unfocused, vague, and ultimately dangerous—both to America’s short-term and long-term interests. Pick whatever foreign policy disaster you’d like from American history—Bay of Pigs; Iran-Contra; Mission: Accomplished. The thinking behind Trump’s Venezuela adventure is worse.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Trump’s ultimatum last night is the single stupidest and most irresponsible presidential statement in the 249-year history of American foreign policy. I defy you to find something—anything—dumber.
And yet I want to want anyone thinking, not for one second, that Maduro is some kind of good guy here. Because he’s not.
Maduro is a bastard. A corrupt, authoritarian gangster who has oppressed the Venezuelan people for years.
So let me tell you the story of Nicolás Maduro . . .