President Donald Trump has issued a terrifying threat to keep ordering deadly strikes against his enemies with absolutely no legal authority.
Asked whether he would seek congressional approval or a formal declaration of war in order to give plausible legal cover for the assassinations, he said: “We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”
Speaking to reporters during a news conference at the White House on Thursday, the president continued: “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country,” Trump said.
The Trump administration has conducted a number of strikes in international waters since early September, killing more than 30 people aboard vessels in both the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.
After at least seven strikes concentrated on the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday confirmed that two more strikes were conducted–this time in the Pacific Ocean–killing a total of five people.
In response to the strikes, Sen. Tim Kaine has led a bipartisan effort in conjunction with Republicans Adam Schiff and Rand Paul to force the Senate to vote on a resolution that would stop Trump from unilaterally declaring war on Venezuela.
“The pace of the announcements, the authorization of covert activities and the military planning makes me think there’s some chance this could be imminent,” the Virginia Democrat said last week.
While Trump has no plans to seek a formal declaration of war from Congress, he has referred to his strikes using such language, telling reporters on Thursday, “The cartels are waging war against America and just like I promised in the campaign, we are waging war against them.”
He added that having conducted numerous strikes on boats, “land is going to be next,” and that he “may go to the Senate” to inform them of the development—but not to ask for permission. He also told Hegseth, “Go to Congress, you tell them about it.”
The president seemed confident that lawmakers would support the strikes, telling reporters, “What are they going to do? Say, ‘Gee, we don’t want to stop drugs pouring in?’ They’re killing 300,000 people a year.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Sen. Schiff condemned the president’s remarks, posting on X, “The president should come to Congress. Legally, he is required to come to Congress. Though he may not get the answer he expects. Americans don’t want another war.”
While the Trump administration cites concerns about drug smuggling and “narco-terrorists” as its motivation for the strikes, the president has made no secret of his opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his desire to see him removed from office.
Speaking to Politico, James B. Story, the former top diplomat to Venezuela during the first Trump administration, said that he believes the Trump administration’s intention is for someone close to Maduro to “invite him into exile, extradite him to the United States or encourage his departure through other means.”
“If you look at the pressure that’s been put, it’s significantly more than was under the first Trump administration, including certainly the attack against these alleged narcotics trafficking vessels,” Story added.
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