"Trump’s self-image as the ultimate dealmaker explains why he was so ready to believe, falsely, that he controlled Venezuela. It also explains his insistence that by, as he imagined, seizing Venezuela, he had gained a valuable prize in the form of its oil. ...

It’s important to understand that the confrontation with Venezuela has nothing to do with the national interest."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #RealityTV
/16

"It’s all about Trump’s self-aggrandizing delusions. And it will accomplish nothing except to make America look even less trustworthy and weaker than it did before."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #RealityTV
/17

"The thing about MAGA, though, is that the policies and rights and wrongs — intervening abroad or not, pardoning violent criminals or not, sexually abusing children or not — don’t actually matter. Ideology does not matter. Morals do not matter.

What matters: Domination. Subjugation. Abusing the less powerful simply because it feels good."

~ Jill Filipovic

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #domination #abuse
/18

throughline.news/p/the-plundering-imperial-presidency

"The U.S. president just went to war with another country and now will apparently occupy it for essentially no reason, with no warning and with public opinion overwhelming against all of it. Someone quipped on BlueSky last night that Trump hadn’t even taken the proper constitutional steps to lie the country into this war."

~ Josh Marshall

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #domination #Congress
/19

First Thoughts on Trump’s Excellent Venezuela Adventure

Let me share a few thoughts about the U.S. action overnight in Venezuela. I say “action” because it’s not clear to me that the U.S. itself (as in the people…

TPM – Talking Points Memo (talkingpointsmemo.com)

"Trump does what he wants, like one does with things one owns. You don’t ask your table what room it wants to be in and most employers don’t ask employees what tasks they want to do. In Trump’s mind he owns the country and its power. He won it fair and square in the 2024 election. Everything that stands in the way of that basic premise is an obstacle to be overturned."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #domination #Congress
/20

"I don’t think there’s any actual reason we’re invading Venezuela or trying to decapitate its government or whatever we’re doing. I think there are two or three different factions in the government each pushing a very hostile policy toward Venezueala for differing reasons. Meanwhile, Trump thinks it’s cool and has a personal beef with Maduro."

Josh Marshall

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #domination #Congress
/21

Brief Point

Let me reiterate a general point I’ve made in other posts. I don’t think there’s any actual reason we’re invading Venezuela or trying to decapitate its…

TPM – Talking Points Memo (talkingpointsmemo.com)

"My point is that it’s a mistake to think there’s a 'real' reason mixed in with other subterfuges and rationales, or that it’s important to find out which one the 'real' reason is. It’s not that linear or logical."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #narcissism #violence #madman #domination #Congress
/22

"Trump has turned the world’s superpower into a rogue state. ...

Mr Trump himself made it clear that he is driven by the lure of oil as well as machismo, the ideology of some in his administration, and the desire for glory as domestic popularity wanes."

~ The Guardian

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #domination #Congress #RogueState #NationalSecurityStrategy
/23

The Guardian view on the US seizure of Maduro: Trump has turned the world’s superpower into a rogue state | Editorial

Editorial: The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the region

the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)

"Under Trump’s regime, the Constitution has begun to resemble Swiss cheese, or perhaps the redacted Epstein files—displaying more blacked out sections than text."

~ Jennifer Rubin

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #Congress #Epstein #Constitution #NationalSecurityStrategy
/24

If We had a Functional Constitution, We Wouldn’t have an Illegal War

MAGA stooges destroyed the rule of law

(contrarian.substack.com)

"This is nuts. Trump is already on his way to destroying the rule of law in America. Now he’s destroying the rules-based system of international law and diplomacy that the United States created in the wake of the horrors of World War II."

~ Robert Reich

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #domination #Congress #RogueState #InternationalLaw #NationalSecurityStrategy
/25

The Quagmire of Trump’s Venezuela

Friends,

(robertreich.substack.com)

"The Venezuelan incursion also reflects the central failing of American domestic politics: the continued declining relevance of Congress."

~ Idrees Kahloon

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #domination #Congress #RogueState #InternationalLaw #NationalSecurityStrategy
/26

Making Sense of the Venezuela Attack

All actions have consequences—even arbitrary and inscrutable ones.

The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com)

"Now, as the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, is in essence abducted and Venezuela taken over by the US, there is barely any effort to situate the coup in any reasoning other than the US’s interests. Nor are there any attempts to solicit consent from domestic or international law-making bodies and allies, let alone the public."

~ Nesrine Malik

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #domination #Congress #RogueState #InternationalLaw #NationalSecurityStrategy
/27

Trump’s coup in Venezuela didn’t just break the rules – it showed there aren’t any. We’ll all regret that | Nesrine Malik

It’s not just the triumphalism in the White House. Leaders loth to oppose this gangsterism must think how that looks to Putin, Xi and in the UAE, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)

"The days of the US trying to convince the world that Saddam Hussein did in fact have weapons of mass destruction despite secretly having no reliable intelligence were, in fact, the good old days. ...

There is little to no effort to make reasonings for the takeover cohere."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #domination #Congress #RogueState #InternationalLaw #NationalSecurityStrategy
/28

"Beneath Venezuelan soil sits the largest proven oil reserves on the planet. Not ideology, not morality, not democracy. OIL.

Just yesterday, during his first press conference on the strikes in Venezuela, Trump didn’t even bother to pretend that this had anything to do with combatting drug-trafficking. He simply stated the obvious:"

~ Katie Phang

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #oil #BigOil #EconomicElites
/29

Oil, Oil Toil and Trouble

John McCain said: "Whoever controls oil controls much more than oil."

(katiephang.substack.com)

"'We're going to have our very large U.S. oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.' In fact, he made oil the star of the show, focusing most of his commentary on oil, even when there were no questions posed by the media about it."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #oil #BigOil #EconomicElites
/30

"The extraordinary attack, which legal experts said violated U.S. and international law, created a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer.

In 2024, Singer, an 81-year-old with a net worth of $6.7 billion, donated $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., Trump’s Super PAC."

~ Judd Legum

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #oil #BigOil #EconomicElites #PaulSinger #Citgo
/31

Venezuela raid enriches MAGA billionaire

The ouster of Maduro is a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer.

(popular.info)

"Singer donated tens of millions more in the 2024 cycle to support Trump’s allies, including $37 million to support the election of Republicans to Congress. He also donated an undisclosed amount to fund Trump’s second transition. ...

In November 2025, Singer acquired Citgo, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #oil #BigOil #EconomicElites #PaulSinger #Citgo
/32

"Citgo owns three major refineries on the Gulf Coast, 43 oil terminals, and a network of over 4,000 independently owned gas stations."

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #oil #BigOil #EconomicElites #PaulSinger #Citgo
/33

"What is Donald Trump running away from so hard? Is it the fifth anniversary of his January 6 insurrection, which we will mark on Tuesday? It should be.

It could be Jack Smith’s newly released testimony, which is damning and damaging—and we haven’t even gotten the release date of Volume II of his special counsel report, due sometime in February unless Trump manages to hang it up in court."

~ Joyce Vance

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #Jan6 #JackSmith #Epstein
/34

The Week Ahead

January 4, 2026

(joycevance.substack.com)

"On balance, Congressman Jim Jordan’s 'Weaponization' work is backfiring.

It could also be the Epstein Files. DOJ missed its reporting date to Congress over the weekend, and the full release of the files is still nowhere in sight.

#Trump #Venezuela #Maduro #Jan6 #JackSmith #Epstein
/35