Stop me if you’ve heard this before: President Trump does something extremely beneficial for Americans, for our country, and for our future, and Democrats a) immediately hate it; and b) take the side of the enemy.
As we reported, Donald Trump dropped a bombshell on Truth Social, announcing that the United States had captured and arrested Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a middle-of-the-night military operation.
That development was definitely not on the weekend news-cycle bingo card. I was expecting a quiet morning—maybe brunch—not a headline announcing the takedown of a narco-dictator. But that’s the Trump era in a nutshell: when everyone else is easing into the weekend, he’s out here reshuffling the geopolitical board.
Attorney General Pam Bondi laid out the legal justification and other details in an X post:
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.
Maduro and his wife were clearly caught flat-footed—and so were the Democrats. Which explains the now-familiar spectacle that followed: full-blown meltdowns, performative outrage, and reflexive denunciations. When Trump takes charge and does Trump things for the country, the Left’s response is always the same—temper tantrums, snide jabs, and probably a few pieces of furniture sacrificed to the cause.
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Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), himself a Marine veteran of some of the nastiest fighting during the Iraq war, was one of the first to weigh in on X:
Second unjustified war in my life time.
This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year.
There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) January 3, 2026
Why is the Left’s default reaction always to scream “War?” Take a look at the Truth Social post itself—did Donald Trump say anything about launching a war? No. He announced the strike and said more details would be provided at an 11:00 a.m. EST news conference.
Democrats are trying to shout over the sound of celebration coming out of Venezuela, where people are reportedly dancing in the streets. Naturally, that hasn’t stopped the usual suspects from rushing to cable news to manufacture outrage. Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10) predictably jumped in to accuse President Trump of violating the Constitution—because for Democrats, constitutional concern only seems to exist when it can be weaponized against Trump.
This is the same crowd that shrugged through years of executive overreach during ‘Drone Strike’ Obama’s two terms (one death was an American citizen) when it suited them, only to rediscover the Constitution the moment Trump does something decisive.
Trump’s unilateral operation last night was an illegal act of war without Congress’s authorization.
Maduro is a brutal dictator who has oppressed the Venezuelan people, but our constitution does not yield for bad people.
If Congress is to survive as an institution, the…
— Rep. Dan Goldman (@RepDanGoldman) January 3, 2026
Goldman whined:
Trump’s unilateral operation last night was an illegal act of war without Congress’s authorization.
Maduro is a brutal dictator who has oppressed the Venezuelan people, but our constitution does not yield for bad people.
If Congress is to survive as an institution, the Republican majority must join us exercising our power to hold this administration accountable for this flagrant violation of the constitution.
That’s really rich. A Democrat pretending to care about the Constitution.
Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) also decided to drape himself in ‘muh Constitution’ and bemoan about the cost of war.
Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela.
He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) January 3, 2026
Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela.
He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??
Who should they really be mad at, though? President Barack Obama, as constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley explains:
Trump does not need congressional approval for this type of operation. Presidents, including Democratic presidents, have launched lethal attacks regularly against individuals. 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.
So that dead dog definitely doesn’t hunt—but they’ll beat it anyway, as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) so reliably does. Constitutional nuance has never been her strong suit. But universal health care talking points and breathless commentary about the Epstein files? Now that’s her comfort zone:
It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month.
It’s about oil and regime change.
And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 3, 2026
Sure, barkeep. Can I get another beer, though?
Anyway, on cue, here comes Rashida Tlaib with more of the same ‘muh Constitution’ (remember when she shouted ‘We’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker!’ – meaning Trump – for no reason, and then did?):
Trump’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are grave violations of international law and the U.S. Constitution. These are the actions of a rogue state.
The American people do not want another regime change war abroad.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 3, 2026
The really bad news here? Too many of our fellow Americans keep electing these Democrat doorknobs to Congress.
