The Official "Damned Trump" Thread: Phase II

[Angrboda]

For all of Trump’s bluster, neither are Americans exactly in control of our sphere of influence. Two days after the capture of Maduro, Trump already risks falling victim to his own propaganda, just like Putin. Venezuela, as one former U.S. ambassador to the country recently wrote, is “a failed state riddled with illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist organizations.” The regime has not been removed. The military and various paramilitaries are all still in place, and although some might cooperate with the Trump administration, others might not. With no U.S. troops in Venezuela, will Americans “run” Venezuela by issuing loud statements and threats? By ordering periodic military interventions? Perhaps the administration has made a deal with some members of the regime—that would explain why the American raid met so little opposition—but there is no guarantee that such a deal will produce the kinds of benefits Trump expects. Oil isn’t something that lies around on the ground to be picked up and taken home. It requires long-term investments, relationships, contracts. If the government of Venezuela is likely to fall or change at any moment, none of those will materialize.

But Trump’s error is even more fundamental. The division of the world into spheres of influence implies that smaller countries cannot influence events, and it’s a grave mistake to imagine Venezuelans won’t try. Many of them wanted an American intervention, are overjoyed that Maduro is gone, and no wonder: He and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, together turned the richest country in South America into the poorest, fortifying their ugly security state with guns and surveillance systems purchased from autocracies around the world.

But now that Maduro is gone, the people who fought for years for justice, freedom, and self-determination aren’t going to want to live in a Trump-backed dictatorship staffed with Maduro’s cronies. One Venezuelan exile, who requested anonymity because of risks to his family, told me that on Saturday, he felt like he was on a roller coaster. First the elation of Maduro’s exit, then the shock of Trump’s press conference, then the angry realization that maybe nothing has changed and he still can’t go home.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...ng/685503/

[Mr Greene]

Lord almighty is there even one person in power saying that shit trump pulled was simply a crime?

Heres something that might xplode your irony meter:

The last german chancellor who openly refused to follow a US president breaking international law was Schroeder vs Bush Jr in Iraq. Schröder is a personal friend of and literally worked for (after his chancellorship): Putin

You want irony? Nigel Farage delivers: He described Trump's actions as 'Unorthodox, unconstitutional and illegal under international law' of course he and his his followers still fully support him.
The issue is that the ICC has no teeth and the supreme court granted Trump immunity. The people who don't have immunity are the personnel who carried out the illegal orders...

[Thumpalumpacus]

For all of Trump’s bluster, neither are Americans exactly in control of our sphere of influence. Two days after the capture of Maduro, Trump already risks falling victim to his own propaganda, just like Putin. Venezuela, as one former U.S. ambassador to the country recently wrote, is “a failed state riddled with illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist organizations.” The regime has not been removed. The military and various paramilitaries are all still in place, and although some might cooperate with the Trump administration, others might not. With no U.S. troops in Venezuela, will Americans “run” Venezuela by issuing loud statements and threats? By ordering periodic military interventions? Perhaps the administration has made a deal with some members of the regime—that would explain why the American raid met so little opposition—but there is no guarantee that such a deal will produce the kinds of benefits Trump expects. Oil isn’t something that lies around on the ground to be picked up and taken home. It requires long-term investments, relationships, contracts. If the government of Venezuela is likely to fall or change at any moment, none of those will materialize.

But Trump’s error is even more fundamental. The division of the world into spheres of influence implies that smaller countries cannot influence events, and it’s a grave mistake to imagine Venezuelans won’t try. Many of them wanted an American intervention, are overjoyed that Maduro is gone, and no wonder: He and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, together turned the richest country in South America into the poorest, fortifying their ugly security state with guns and surveillance systems purchased from autocracies around the world.

But now that Maduro is gone, the people who fought for years for justice, freedom, and self-determination aren’t going to want to live in a Trump-backed dictatorship staffed with Maduro’s cronies. One Venezuelan exile, who requested anonymity because of risks to his family, told me that on Saturday, he felt like he was on a roller coaster. First the elation of Maduro’s exit, then the shock of Trump’s press conference, then the angry realization that maybe nothing has changed and he still can’t go home.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...ng/685503/

Yeah, I read that and posted it in full in the AD. Applebaum is an outstanding analyst.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Boru

[Angrboda]

[Nanny]

The United States of America is no longer a democratic republic. My country is now an imperial strongman oligarchy.

History repeats. So shameful. Welcome to 1933.

[Ivan Denisovich]

The United States of America is no longer a democratic republic. My country is now an imperial strongman oligarchy.

History repeats. So shameful. Welcome to 1933.

It was imperial(ist) for years already. Also it seems to be a kakistocracy.

[The Grand Nudger]

If we were imperialist for years we would still own kosovo afghanistan and iraq. The us gets up to all sorts of shitty things, but lets not take the mad kings achievements away from him. He is truly committed to doing something different than his predecessors. He hopes to build a literal, not figurative or even economic, empire.

[Paraselene]

A literally shitty empire.

[The Grand Nudger]

Everything he touches.