President Donald Trump’s allies within the Republican Party and his Make America Great Again motion — even some who beforehand warned in opposition to wading into new overseas conflicts — largely rallied behind his actions in Venezuela on Saturday, hours after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in a large-scale army operation.
Trump confronted criticism from some conservatives who worried he was straying from his “America First” pledges, in addition to from Democrats who questioned the legality of his transfer and his long-term technique. But most Republicans, together with leaders on Capitol Hill, hawkish figures who’ve typically criticized Trump’s overseas coverage positions, conservatives in South Florida, and influencers inside his political motion, backed the president on Saturday.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised Trump’s motion, writing on social media: “We will be more prosperous and safer for it. I am hoping and praying that the Venezuelan people will soon have a fresh start on democracy and freedom.”
But he cautioned that the United States ought to flip over management of Venezuela rapidly.
“The President is correct to counsel patience. We have to get this right. But the sooner Venezuela is put back in the hands of the Venezuelan people, the better,” Graham mentioned.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has lengthy opposed US army intervention, wrote on social media that “few Venezuelans, or Americans for that matter, will or should mourn the removal of Nicolas Maduro from power.”
Paul, who has co-sponsored a bipartisan measure that will block Trump from taking additional army motion in Venezuela, didn’t overtly criticize Trump’s actions however burdened the significance of limits to the president’s powers in such instances.
“Time will tell if regime change in Venezuela is successful without significant monetary or human cost. Best though, not to forget, that our founders limited the executive’s power to go to war without Congressional authorization for a reason — to limit the horror of war and limit war to acts of defense,” he mentioned.
Those questions on what occurs subsequent imply the broader political penalties are removed from clear, as Trump’s declare that the United States will “run” Venezuela throughout a transitional interval raised the prospect of long-lasting and far-reaching US army actions in Latin America. Trump doubled down on that notion when he described Cuba as “very similar” and “something we’ll end up talking about,” and advised reporters that Colombia’s president must “watch his ass.”
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah initially sounded vital of Trump’s actions in Venezuela, writing simply after 3 a.m. ET Saturday that he regarded ahead “to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.”
However, he later wrote that he’d been briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and mentioned: “This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”
Trump’s sphere of MAGA influencers additionally rallied behind his transfer in Venezuela. Steve Bannon, the populist former prime Trump strategist and “War Room” podcast host, known as the operation “bold and brilliant.”
Meanwhile, South Florida Republicans hailed Maduro’s removing as a momentous growth.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, the Cuban-born former mayor of Miami-Dade County, wrote on X that Trump’s transfer “is this hemisphere’s equivalent to the Fall of the Berlin Wall.”
“It’s a big day in Florida, where the majority of Venezuelan, Cuban, & Nicaraguan exiles reside. This is the community I represent & we are overwhelmed with emotion and hope,” he mentioned.
On the 2024 marketing campaign path, Trump lengthy criticized earlier presidents’ actions within the Middle East and pledged an “America First” overseas coverage. He additionally claimed to own extraordinary powers to finish overseas conflicts, together with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will settle the war in Ukraine before I even take office; I’ll settle it as president-elect,” he mentioned at a rally a month earlier than the election.
A Quinnipiac University poll final month, carried out amid growing scrutiny of US army assaults that killed alleged drug smugglers at sea, discovered that 63% of voters opposed US army motion inside Venezuela, whereas simply 25% — together with 4% of Democrats, 52% of Republicans and 19% of independents — supported it.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a longtime Trump ally who in latest months has turned against the president, was sharply vital of Trump on social media Saturday — simply days earlier than her planned departure from the House.
“This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end,” she wrote. “Boy were we wrong.”
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a conservative Republican who is commonly at odds with Trump, questioned the authorized grounds for the president’s actions, and mentioned Trump’s phrases had been starkly against the extra cautious feedback of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who described the fees Maduro and his spouse would face.
“Meanwhile Trump announces he’s taken over the country and will run it until he finds someone suitable to replace him. Added bonus: says American oil companies will get to exploit the oil,” Massie wrote sarcastically on X.
He additionally wrote that the Justice Department’s 25-page indictment of Maduro contained “no mention of fentanyl or stolen oil. Search it for yourself.”
Candace Owens, the conservative podcaster who has feuded with different MAGA figures over her promotion of conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes, said on X: “Venezuela has been ‘liberated’ like Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq were ‘liberated’. The CIA has staged another hostile takeover of a country at the behest of a [sic] globalist psychopaths.”
Still, many Republicans who haven’t carefully aligned themselves with Trump held their fireplace on Saturday.
Indiana Sen. Todd Young wrote on X: “We still need more answers, especially to questions regarding the next steps in Venezuela’s transition. As Congress returns to Washington next week, I am eager to work with members of the Trump Administration to bring clarity to the situation.”
And even a few of Trump’s main Republican critics mentioned Maduro’s removing was constructive.
Nikki Haley, the previous US ambassador to the United Nations who ran in opposition to Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, wrote on X that Maduro “oppressed his people to enrich himself and his cronies” and mentioned he “kept the Cuban dictatorship afloat with stolen oil.”
“The Venezuelan people deserve freedom, and we should pray this moment marks a new day for the Americas,” Haley mentioned.
Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, among the many loudest Republican critics of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, mentioned on X that Maduro’s arrest “was the right call.”
“May Maduro face justice and the people of Venezuela be free,” Kinzinger mentioned.