Instant Reaction: Trump Says US to ‘Run Venezuela’ in Interim After Maduro

0:01Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcast Radio News This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg. Instant reaction and analysis from our 3 ,000 journalists and analysts around the world. Live from Mar-a-Lago on Bloomberg TV and radio, answering a series of questions alongside the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Cain. We learned a lot together over the past half hour or so, and I want to just unpack some of what we learned. If you're just joining us, thank you for being here with a special edition of Balance of Power on Bloomberg TV and radio streaming live on YouTube with breaking news on this Saturday, the 3rd of January.

0:46Mission Absolute Resolve, the name of the operation that took place last evening in Venezuela. Dan Cain describing months of work by Intel to find Nicolas Maduro, who is now on his way to New York to face charges. Months of work, he described, to understand where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets. The key, he said, was choosing the right day to minimize civilian harm. He described 150 military aircraft involved. And indeed, one of the helicopters that was involved in this mission came under fire but remained flyable, he said. All of our aircraft came home. President Trump referring to the transition here and a remarkable headline that crossed the terminal a short time ago.

1:31quote, we are going to run it, essentially, referring to the country of Venezuela, until such time as proper transition can take place. He said as well, we are not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to, and we're going to make sure that this is proper. We're there now. And says for a period of time, it'll be the people that are standing right behind me who will be running the country, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense and others. We saw the leaders of the CIA and FBI in the room as well at Mar-a-Lago. At my side today in Washington, Christina Ruffini, who has spent many years covering the State Department and foreign policy.

2:11This is something we've never quite seen, certainly from an America first president, as he calls himself. I mean, no. And one of the questions was, how is this America first? And the president responded, America needs safe neighbors. And also we need energy. And that's our energy. And one of the more remarkable moments was the one you were just referencing, where he said the US will be running Venezuela until we can make sure that they're doing properly. The other moment was when he was asked about Marie Machado, the Nobel laureate, and said he doesn't think she's up to the job. He doesn't think it's going to be her.

2:42He doesn't think she has the support of the people. That's really remarkable because there were questions about whether she was in fact talking with him about next steps here. I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. He said, quote, she's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect to have the job, having won the Nobel Peace Prize and referred to as an opposition leader for a reason here. We want to bring in a voice from Capitol Hill, and it's an important one. And Congressman Brad Schneider, the Democrat from Illinois, is chair of the New Democrat Coalition, as we just spent quite a period of time listening to the Republican administration.

3:17Congressman, we'd like to hear from your side of the aisle on this. Secretary Rubio says he did call members of Congress immediately after these strikes took place. Did you get a call? Did any of your Democratic colleagues receive a briefing this morning? I didn't. I don't know of any of my colleagues who have gotten a briefing. I've seen statements from folks like Jim Himes, who is the ranking member on intelligence, Mark Warner in the Senate have all said that they had not heard anything. And Joe, this is a critical moment for our country. The president, well, let me go back first to Maduro.

3:55Maduro is a bad actor who deserves to face justice. He stole an election in 2024, installed himself as president. This time last year, he's been indicted by a US court in New York. And so I'm not going to defend Maduro or mourn for his demise. But the fact of the matter is that the president needs to follow the Constitution. And it is only the United States Congress who has the authority to declare war, has the authority to authorize military force. The president can take action if there is an imminent threat. The president needs to show Congress and the American people what was that threat? What is the legal justification?

4:34And critically, especially as you said, That is, he's now saying the U.S. is going to run Venezuela. How is the United States going to guarantee or ensure that Venezuela doesn't become a failed state and a threat to its neighbors and the United States as a whole? Well, you're on intel and foreign affairs, Congressman. We heard from John Thune and Mike Johnson earlier today that there would be briefings planned for early next week. Is that your understanding? I suspect you'd be the first to be in the room, right? Yeah, I'm not on intel. I'm on ways and means and foreign affairs. But we do need to have briefings.

5:04The administration needs to come to Congress as soon as we get back and brief us in a classified format, laying out its justification for the attack, laying out its legal authority for taking this attack. And quite honestly, I don't think the American people wants this administration running another country. They're already having enough trouble running this country. Congressman, what about that? That was one of the more startling revelations of that press conference when President Trump said, well, who's going to be running Venezuela? And he kind of gestured to the people behind him. And then more follow ups from the press.

5:38You know, what was what is the mechanism for this? How long? He basically said at one point he said, you know, it could take about a year. And then he said, but it takes a very long time to get the oil. And then he said, not only would the U.S. be using that oil to pay for, I'm assuming, its administration of Venezuela, but would also be reimbursing itself for damages Donald Trump says Venezuela has inflicted on the United States. Well, for Trump, it's always about the money. It's always about enriching himself. So that's a concern. This administration hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt from the American people to know that it's putting American interests first, not the interests of folks like Trump and his family and friends.

6:16That said, we need to understand what are the steps to ensure that Venezuela doesn't descend into a state of chaos and threaten the entire region. It's ironic that 35 years ago today, Noriega, President Noriega of Panama surrendered to U.S. forces. The U.S. invaded Panama on December 20th of 1989. Noriega was arrested. The difference was on December 20th, the date of that invasion, the United States put in place a new president from Panama. The Panamanian people governed themselves. And so we need to understand why that isn't happening here. And as you noted earlier, the president has said he doesn't have confidence in the opposition leader.

7:02She has broad trust of the Venezuelan people. We need to make sure that we have a government of Venezuelans for Venezuelans protecting their interests and ensuring a strong relationship with the region. I saw your statement on Twitter earlier, Congressman. You write Maduro is a bad guy who deserves to be brought to justice. But that does not mean President Trump has blanket authority to send the U.S. military into a foreign land without authorization by Congress. There have been multiple attempts by Democrats. We spoke recently with Congressman Jim McGovern about his effort to get a War Powers Act on the floor of the House.

7:37You don't see that going anywhere with a Republican majority, do you? Not with this majority who have lost their sense of responsibility. The founders established with the Constitution three co-equal branches of government. And they rightly put the authority to declare war, to take the United States into foreign conflicts, to put U.S. troops in harm's way. put that with the Congress, because it is the Congress that faces the voters every two years, is the Congress, today, 435 representatives who reflect the interest and the values of the American people as a whole. And it is Congress who has the ability to respond and react.

8:15We need to make sure that congressional authority is protected. We need to take back that authority that this administration has usurped, not just on war powers, but we've seen on tariffs and so many other areas. We need to stand up to this administration and say Congress is a co-equal branch, not a subordinate branch. Congressman, do you have any inclination or any hints from your colleagues across the aisle that this may be a step too far? Have you heard any rumblings or whispers? I know it's very early that not all members of the party may be behind these actions in the days and weeks to come that you could see some defections from across the aisle.

8:49I would be surprised if there weren't some. I know a lot of my Republican friends, they believe in the Constitution. They ran for Congress to make a difference in the lives of the people they represent, but also to respect the idea that we are a co-equal branch of the federal government. And so I would be surprised if you don't hear a broad outcry. The administration, if it is able to present legal justification, if it is able to present a strategy that lays out their vision for transferring power quickly and restoring the government of Venezuela to the people of Venezuela, maybe that will temper it.

9:26But what we heard today in the president's press conference, he intends to take the oil for his own benefit. He intends to put his own friends in charge and he intends to let the United States run another country, something that we haven't done in a very long time. Congressman Brad Schneider, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you taking the time. As markets move and headlines break, what matters most is context. A Bloomberg subscription gives you unmatched reporting, sharp analysis, and powerful tools that help you connect the dots. Visit Bloomberg.com slash podcast offer to learn more.

10:02As we continue our special coverage from Washington, the president is posting more on social media, Truth Social, with a new video up of the strikes. with a soundtrack, Fortunate Son, by Credence Clearwater Revival. As you watch these strikes take place, the explosions on the horizon, it was a video taken from what appears to be a balcony in an apartment building, remembering, of course, that that was an anti-war anthem from Vietnam. But it calls into question the optics coming from this administration. Of course, a self-declared America first president and whether this justification that the president has delivered will be accepted by the MAGA base and others who support President Trump.

10:50It's part of the conversation we want to have with Justin Logan, who's director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. Justin, thanks for being with us here on Bloomberg TV and radio. What are your thoughts this morning? Just to begin with this afternoon, I should say at this point now with the strikes behind us, but a massive American armada still off the coast of Venezuela. Is this over from a military standpoint? I don't know is something you're never supposed to say on TV, but it happens to be the truth. I love that answer. To me, the takeaway here is that the president didn't say we're going to be running Venezuela in an offhand response to a question.

11:28It was clearly in his prepared remarks. So that is surprising to me. I mean, I think the president knows that the American people are not ready for a large nation building campaign inside Venezuela. But to use the words that he used, we're going to, quote, run the country as long as we can until a safe, proper and judicious transition can take place. And then he talked about that would establish peace, liberty, and justice for the Venezuelan people. Well, that's a very heavy lift for the United States. And then at the end of the conversation, or the press conference, rather, he remarked that the prime candidate for taking over the country with a vision of peace, liberty, and justice, Maria Corina Machado, was not in the cards.

12:15He sort of said that she doesn't have the confidence of the Venezuelan people and that it would be very tough for her. So we're missing huge pieces of the story if, in fact, the Americans are going to be running Venezuela. And that was really startling, especially given how much effort she's put into curating that relationship with President Trump, making sure to say supportive things of him in almost every interview she's had, being supportive of his strikes on these drug boats or fishing boats or whatever they tend to be. I also want to ask you, Justin, your latest op-ed was entitled Mr. President, Don't Do It.

12:50Obviously, he missed that memo. But I've got an excerpt from it here. You say the administration's public case for its Venezuela policy is insultingly ridiculous. At an October 15th press conference, the president declared that every boat we knock out, we save 25 ,000 American lives. Considering that there were only around 84 ,000 overdoses in the United States last year and that they have so far blown up 10 boats, they should have declared victory and come home seven boats ago. Yeah, I mean, trying to pin down the case for this, and I'm old enough to have been around during the Iraq war run up, right?

13:23There was a sort of more linear story told then than there has been told now. The president started this campaign against Venezuela by talking about fentanyl coming out of Venezuela. Someone apparently let him know that fentanyl doesn't come out of Venezuela. And now you heard in the press conference today he was referencing 300 ,000 overdoses, when in fact there are now less than 80 ,000 overdoses total in the United States each year, most of which are due to fentanyl. There is some cocaine that comes to the United States via Venezuela, but that accounts for a relatively small number of those overdose deaths.

13:59So at times this is about the sort of indictment of Nicolas Maduro and his wife in the United States. And you heard this weird fusion of the Defense Department allegedly responding to a Department of Justice request to suppress Venezuelan air defenses and to embed law enforcement officers in sort of Delta Force raids. So there's this weird blurring together, both of rationales that this is about law enforcement somehow, but it's also about, as Pete Hegseth said, the safety, security, freedom and prosperity of the American people. The American people have not been crying out for regime change in Venezuela, outside of maybe pockets of South Florida, if you will.

14:40So this trying to pin down exactly what the ends, ways and means of this campaign are has been, even for somebody who's been in this business for a while, a pretty heavy lift. Last question for you, Justin. We've only got about a minute. I want to get back to where we began, and that's the justification for this military action. The president said, quote, we built Venezuela's oil industry with American talent, drive and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us. Will the American electorate appreciate that point? Yeah, I mean, it's a pretty dicey thing to say, you know, we went into this country with our military and deposed its leader to protect.

15:21And you heard Marco Rubio talking about not, you know, American assets, but the assets of American oil companies. Right. Are you going to go out and campaign for office in twenty twenty eight if you're running for the presidency by saying we, you know, when in Venezuela to protect oil companies revenue streams? Right. That just strikes me as a weird political pitch in an era where Americans are asking for more help at home, for more focus at home. And I think there's a real exhaustion with the overall amount of foreign policy activity this administration has had thus far as compared with domestic policy.

15:56With his view from the Cato Institute, Justin Logan, we thank you very much for your insights. Before we get some final thoughts from our political panel, we want to get the latest right now from our newsroom in a day that has brought many developments to this story. Let's turn now to Nathan Hager. Nathan, what do you have? You said it, Joe. Thank you. President Trump says the U.S. is essentially running Venezuela now after an overnight round of airstrikes and a special forces operation that ended with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores. They are now on their way to New York, where they will face charges of narco terrorism, conspiracy and drug trafficking.

16:32Here is what President Trump had to say at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. So we don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in. And we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. so we are going to run the country. And the president says the U.S. stands ready to carry out a second strike. It's not afraid to deploy troops in Venezuela if needed. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado posted on X that the opposition's ready to, quote, honor their mandate and assume power.

17:11But President Trump says Machado does not have the respect or support to lead the country. I'm Nathan Hager in Washington. Joe and Christina, back to you. All right, Nathan, thank you so much for all of your contributions today. We're live in Washington on a special edition of Balance of Power here on Bloomberg TV and radio as we reassemble our political panel. Bloomberg politics contributor Jeannie Shanzano is with us. Our Democratic analyst and democracy visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center, alongside Republican strategist Lester Munson from the International Practice at BGR Group.

17:44All right, let's hear from both of you. Now that the president has spoken, Jeannie, did he make the case for this military action? I think he opened a lot more questions than he answered. The idea that Marco Rubio, who already has something to three to four jobs by any count, is going to be joining this team and running Venezuela. I don't think many of us expected it. And how that is going to happen, for what length, who is going to do it. He's open to boots on the ground. All of this is just an astonishing development. So I think a lot more questions here in regards to what the president said than answers.

18:20Lester, I have a slightly less sophisticated question for you. In a press conference that had a lot of staggering, memorable moments, one that stood out to me was actually Marco Rubio, because while even President Trump, of course, he strayed from his prepared remarks, the Admiral Hegseth were all reading from prepared remarks. We saw Rubio do something we don't usually see from him, where he got up and very casually said, I don't have much else to add. But he said, you know, Maduro wanted to play the big guy and he spoke off the cuff. He spoke in a very regular manner and he spoke a little bit more like we usually hear Donald Trump do.

18:58And I'm wondering, given all the talk about, you know, a Vance Rubio Rubio Vance ticket, if he's jostling a little bit to be heir apparent and if that's what was going on here. Yeah, boy, you could you could read a lot into that. I think it's a great question. And I think the secretary of state did a good job. He looked very comfortable. He was being very politically smart. He wasn't really taking ownership of this issue. He was letting the president, President Trump, go out there and make the case to kind of the MAGA base. Hey, this matters to you. Trump talked about the young victim of Trenderagua in Texas and said this is, you know, this matters for our people.

19:40and Rubio was happy to kind of step aside and let him do that. I think we all sense that Rubio has been playing a huge role in this policymaking leading up to this in this moment and is clearly going to play a big role in the future. So very interesting positioning by him, but I think he did a very good job. Well, just to extend that a little bit, Jeannie, this did seem to be a family operation here. If you could see the cutaway shot in the room, the whole team was with the president either behind the podium or off to the side. Hegseth, Kane, Rubio, but also Stephen Miller was there. Ratcliffe, CIA.

20:17Did you notice Cash Patel of the FBI was off to the side next to Steve Witkoff? Were they all, should we assume, were they all involved in this process and will they all somehow together run Venezuela? That's what we were told. I mean, it was quite a stunning display. I thought it was smart that J.D. Vance, at least as far as I could see from my perch, was not there because politically, if this thing goes afoul, it would hurt him and running for 28. So that was interesting. But I do think there is absolutely no distance between Donald Trump and the people in his cabinet, and that's by design. And one really interesting thing I thought Rubio had to say was the fact that there are instances in which the administration does not need to inform Congress about a military activity if it is a law enforcement activity.

21:06This is news, I think, to many of us in the legal community. It'll be interesting to see what Congress and the courts have to say about that. And Lester, we talked earlier about how this is allegedly nominally the non-interventionist wing of the Republican Party. And we were wondering how this was going to get sold to Trump supporters, the president was asked that question directly. How is this America first? And he said it's in America's interest to have good neighbors and the oil. He said energy, having energy is in America's best interest. What are your takes on that? And do you think Trump voters are going to buy that?

21:42Yeah, this is classic kind of Jacksonian approach to foreign policy, which is, is the U.S. getting something out of this? And I think President Trump believes if he goes out and makes the case, we're getting the oil, we're going to manage the oil, this belonged to us, we're taking it back, that's going to resonate with that MAGA base. And there's a lot of evidence that that may be true. And I think he's clearly was using this hour or so to shape that argument with his base. There's been some criticism of this. You think of someone like Tucker Carlson who's been openly critical of some of the decisions the administration has made.

22:19This is a real attempt by the president to go straight at that argument. I think it's going to be relatively effective. At the end of the day, the person the MAGA base trusts the most is Donald Trump. He knows that. And as long as he never turns his back on them, they're going to be with him. Fascinating conversation with the help of Lester Munson and Jeannie Shanzano. Many thanks to both of you. We're going to need your help next week as we unpack all of what we have learned here today. you