After President Donald Trump successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, most Democrats rushed to condemn the operation. They accused Trump of starting an illegal war, and I'm sure impeachment articles are in the works. It's kind of ironic that mere months after their much-hyped "No Kings" rally, Democrats are now defending a dictator.
But I digress. It’s all the same usual performative nonsense we always get from the left. Whatever Trump does, they have to oppose it.
Well, not all of them. One prominent Democrat isn't jumping on the pro-Maduro train.
Senior Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz has come out in support of Trump's military operation.
Sort of.
“The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela's people is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule,” Wasserman Schultz said in a post on X.
That’s a rather stunning admission for someone who once served as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
“However, cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows. Venezuelans deserve the promise of democracy and the rule of law, not a state of endless violence and spiraling disorder,” she continued. “My hope is it offers a passage to true democracy and liberation. This action offers beleaguered Venezuelans a chance to seat their true, democratically elected president, Edmundo González.”
Experts say González and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado are the likely successors to Maduro.
Related: 'Hour of Freedom Has Arrived': María Corina Machado Celebrates Maduro's Capture
Of course, being a Democrat, she still had to echo the drumbeat from her party, insisting she will “demand answers as to why Congress and the American people were bypassed in this effort. The absence of congressional involvement prior to this action risks the continuation of the illegitimate Venezuelan regime.”
She added, “Congress must be properly informed and hold hearings on this invasion. As always, I will work to bring about the promise of a liberated Venezuela.”
Of course, contrary to the claims of Wasserman Schultz and other Democrats, Trump didn’t need congressional authorization for this operation.
“Trump does not need congressional approval for this type of operation. Presidents, including Democratic presidents, have launched lethal attacks regularly against individuals,” constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley wrote on his blog Saturday. “President Barack Obama killed an American citizen under this ‘kill list’ policy. If Obama can vaporize an American citizen without even a criminal charge, Trump can capture a foreign citizen with a pending criminal indictment without prior congressional approval.”
Other congressional Democrats sharply condemn the military action as unlawful.
“There is no justification for the United States to be at war with Venezuela,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in a post on X. “I lived through the consequences of an illegal war sold to the American people with lies. We swore we would never repeat those mistakes. Yet here we are again.”
The United States is not at war with Venezuela.
The Trump administration has not announced any plans for additional military action beyond the capture operation. Trump announced at a press conference that the United States will run the country of Venezuela until a replacement for Maduro can be found and sworn in.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) had a very different take from that of the Democrats. "This is peace through strength on full display,” after speaking with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the operation. He declares that "today, America and the world are a safer place."
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