The Rachel Maddow Show

Maddow calls out the real reason Trump invaded Venezuela

66 snips
Jan 6, 2026
Senator Mark Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain and astronaut, discusses military ethics and defends his call for service members to refuse unlawful orders after facing attacks from the Trump administration. Veterans advocate Paul Rieckhoff analyzes how Trump is reshaping military policy to serve his personal interests. Both highlight the dangers of unchecked military power and propose that Congress must restore constraints on presidential military actions. The conversation also debunks the administration’s justifications for the invasion of Venezuela.
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INSIGHT

News Cycle Diversion Explains Timing

  • The Venezuela invasion served to bury damaging domestic stories and shift attention from controversies.
  • Rachel Maddow suggests the timing aimed to drown out news like the Phelan lithium probe and Epstein document delays.
ANECDOTE

Trump's Longstanding 'Take The Oil' Rhetoric

  • Maddow recounts Trump's repeated public fantasies about 'taking the oil' dating back to Iraq 2003 and 2016.
  • She contrasts Trump's rhetoric with the complex realities of extracting and monetizing Venezuelan oil.
INSIGHT

Oil Motivations Are Strategically Implausible

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