President Donald Trump chastised a journalist for inquiring about potential air strikes on Venezuela, expressing frustration over how to properly respond to such a question.
While traveling on Air Force One from Florida to Washington, DC, a reporter noted that Trump had previously stated it is “not true” regarding reports that he had decided to launch strikes “inland in Venezuela.” Trump responded to the reporter’s question about whether he had “actual plans” for strikes on Venezuela in the future by pointing out that if there were, would he admit that?
The reporter queried, “You mentioned it’s untrue you’ve decided on inland strikes in Venezuela. But are there genuine plans for such strikes soon?”
Trump replied with visible incredulity, “How am I supposed to answer a question like that? ‘Are there plans for a strike on Venezuela?’ Who would confirm that? If we did have plans—would I openly tell you? ‘Yes, we have secret plans!’ That’s not something anyone would admit. What kind of question is that?”
He further remarked that the situation in Venezuela would unfold over time.
“Venezuela has sent us countless individuals from prisons, mental health facilities, and those struggling with addiction, as have other nations,” Trump stated, criticizing the previous U.S. administration as being led by “very foolish people.”
The inquiry about potential strikes followed Trump’s remarks on Air Force One, where he dismissed claims of considering military action against Venezuela, as reported by the Hill. His comments came in response to a Wall Street Journal article suggesting that the Trump administration had identified Venezuelan military sites linked to drug smuggling as potential airstrike targets.
Trump was asked aboard Air Force One while en route to Florida about those reports and whether he had made up his mind about potential strikes.
“No. It’s not true,” Trump responded.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday the Trump administration had identified military facilities in Venezuela used to smuggle drugs as potential targets for strikes. The news outlet said Trump had not made a final decision on whether to carry out strikes inside of Venezuela.
As – News has reported, the Trump administration has launched several strikes on drug-smuggling vessels in international waters near Venezuela.
– News’s Randy Clark reported that the Trump administration has carried out a total of 14 “military attacks” on drug-smuggling vessels, and an “estimated 57 narco-terrorist smugglers have been killed” as a result of the strikes:
The latest strikes on narco-smuggling vessels by U.S. military forces brings the total of military attacks on the vessels to 14 since President Trump’s military campaign against the narco-terrorist smugglers began in early September. The latest strikes comes just one week after the first strike in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Colombia. As reported by – Texas, that strike signaled a broadening of the campaign that had up until then been limited to the Caribbean Sea.
Thus far, an estimated 57 narco-terrorist smugglers have been killed in the U.S. military actions targeting their vessels at sea in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Nicolás Maduro, the socialist dictator of Venezuela, recently issued a message to Trump in English, in which he said, “No crazy war, please.”
Maduro, who has accused the Trump administration of using the “drug-fighting operations as a facade to stage” an invasion of the country, is wanted by the United States government, according to the State Department’s website.
Per the website:
Nicolás Maduro Moros became president of Venezuela following Hugo Chavez’s death in 2013 and declared victory in a presidential election in 2018. In 2019, the National Assembly of Venezuela invoked the Venezuelan constitution and declared that Maduro had usurped power and was not the president of Venezuela. Since 2019, more than 50 countries, including the United States, have refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s head of state.
During an interview with CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell, Trump was asked about the “issue of potential land strikes in Venezuela,” to which he pointed out that he does not talk to reporters about “whether or not” he is going to launch a strike.
“On Venezuela in particular, are Maduro’s days as president numbered?” O’Donnell asked.
“I would say, yeah. I think so,” Trump said.
“And, this issue of potential land strikes in Venezuela, is that true?” O’Donnell questioned.
“I don’t tell you that. I’m not saying it’s true or untrue. I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that,” Trump answered, pointing out that he does not “talk to a reporter about whether or not” he is going to launch an air strike.
