Kind of seems that Trump is trying to create a war with Venezuela,

Stefania Battistini @StefaniaBattis4

12 hours ago

Kind of seems that Trump is trying to create a war with Venezuela,

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@lrozen Kind of seems that he's going to succeed. But what happens next is unpredictable. Trump doesn't always escalate after getting pushback. Sometimes he respects it and defuses tensions, e.g., after Iran's response to Soleimani assassination.

@AKDay89 they are ginning this up and it seems to be Hegseth’s ticket to job stability, in that he will use the military to do whatever illegal things Trump wants

@lrozen I also wonder if this is partly motivated by wanting to justify invocation of alien enemies act to deport Venezuelans. Timing is conspicuous, with federal appeals court ruling use of it unlawful. Not sure if that point has been made; I've been distracted.

@AKDay89 @lrozen The deportation angle could be part of it. But this is also a passion project for Rubio plus there is a lot more support in the MAGA base for this than there was for either the Suleiman assassination or the more recent attack on Iran. I think they're serious about this one.

@MJPlitnick @lrozen I agree with you. But I do think domestic politics conditions / shapes foreign policy in general. The federal appeals court decision was Tuesday, same day as boat strike.

@AKDay89 @lrozen Sure, I agree, they're all factors, and given the impulsiveness of this administration, it's certainly possible that the appeals court decision set them off.

@MJPlitnick @AKDay89 @lrozen Rubio is still an ambitious man but his deepest ambition is to be crowned king of Venezuela.