The worker who yelled “pedophile protector” at President Donald Trump during his visit to a Ford plant in Michigan Tuesday has been suspended. 40-year-old TJ Sabula, a United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker at the factory, told The Washington…
Analysis by Nick Paton Walsh, CNN
Expressions of unbridled power don’t come blunter than abducting a sitting president from his capital in the dead of night.
President Donald Trump has shown in a 74-word social media post that he can act decisively, suddenly and perhaps recklessly, in pursuit of his varied and varying foreign policy goals, with little regard for precedent, consequence or it seems, international law.
The operation to take Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their heavily guarded location in Caracas to – presumably – face the American court system, does follow a predictable albeit extreme pattern for what the US calls a fugitive, with a $50 million bounty on his head.
But there is a grave exception here: Maduro is a head of state, whose nation is prey to various ongoing US political objectives. Whatever the indictments say, this will always feel political.
Successive White Houses have wanted to remove Venezuela’s left-leaning, yet autocratic and at times violent, regime – whether for fighting drug trafficking, or for their oil, or for regional alignment.
The second Trump term promoted an end to Maduro’s role as kingpin of a vast regional narco-trafficking network as key to its rationale. But they ran into a paradox when suggesting Maduro just leave power: He could not be both the kingpin and a man who could walk out on his role at the drop of a hat.
The evidence that Maduro was top of the regional tree was also not as substantial as the White House would have hoped. Yes, Venezuela undoubtedly permitted drug trafficking from its airspace and shores, with the top, global cocaine producer Colombia just over the border. But Mexico and Colombia’s cartels were bigger players – yet seemed to attract less US military focus.
Deep in the heart of this action lies Washington’s wider ambitions for greater control of its near-abroad, for what they have termed an updated Monroe Doctrine.
A pliant Venezuela is better for US hydrocarbon markets, but most importantly provides a place to which millions of Venezuelans currently seeking refuge in the United States can return.
But as it stands, what comes next is not clear – or whether there is an immediate successor, willing to stomach the same risk of abduction. It also remains to be seen this ignites anti-American fury, or ushers in days of celebration at the end of a dictatorship that has mismanaged Venezuelans’ economy into freefall.
Maduro’s departure is a win for Trump, but chaos or collapse after him would be a cascading loss. The plan for “what next” is more important than the staggering display of US might over Caracas’ skies on early Saturday morning.
Originally posted on CNN
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President Donald Trump sees all you gym rats running on your treadmills and he just doesn’t get it … he thinks it’s too boring. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, POTUS remarked, “To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours…
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Time Magazine has dropped a new version of its November 10 issue featuring President Donald Trump just weeks after the president criticized the original cover image. The publication rolled out the updated edition, showcasing a more flattering…
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Stephen A. Smith is not afraid to go up against anyone, and that apparently includes FBI Director Kash Patel.
On the Thursday, October 23, episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith talked about the recent NBA gambling scandal that saw Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat star Terry Rozier arrested as part of a federal investigation into sports gambling.
During the segment, Smith insinuated that U.S. President Donald Trump is involved in the investigation.
“Trump is coming. He’s coming,” Smith, 58, said on the show. “Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what’s going on today…this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Makes 1st Comments After Gambling Indictments
He continued: “I’m watching a press conference with the Director of the FBI. Tell me when we’ve seen that. We’ve seen accusations before, we’ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don’t see the Director of the FBI having a press conference. It’s not coincidental, it’s not an accident. It’s a statement and it’s a warning that more is coming.”
Patel seemingly didn’t take too kindly to Smith’s comments, going on Fox News to talk with Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle later in the day, responding to the fiery accusations.
Patel chuckled when Ingraham asked him about Smith’s comments, saying it was “the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history.”
“I’m the FBI director, I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct,” Patel said. “We arrest people for crimes.”
Ingraham laughed as the segment wrapped.
Smith took a slight step back on his original statement in a social media post on Thursday night, responding to Patel’s comments on Fox News.
“Nothing to get ahead of here, people! I never denied or failed to mention that this FBI Investigation has been going on for years,” Smith said via X. “I said Trump wasn’t inclined to stop it. He’s sparing no one because the man isn’t playing. He’s coming!! In no way am I attempting to even have an opinion on the legitimacy of this matter. I don’t know the facts of the case. I’m just saying don’t expect POTUS to spare anyone on this matter. And I stand by that. That’s all!”
But Smith, of course, wasn’t done.
NBA’s Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier Arrested in Gambling Investigation
On his radio show on Friday, October 24, he commented again on the situation, clarifying his stance while also making clear that he still feels the same way about Trump’s involvement with the investigation.
“I would say he’s the director of the FBI, let’s just say I’m not trying to get on his bad side,” Smith said. “But having said that, I still stand by what I said. And I’m not changing my mind.
He continued: “This investigation has been going on since when Biden was in office. They talked about how this stuff has been going on since 2019, which is when Trump was in office. I’m not implying that Kash Patel doesn’t have any legitimacy to the case that he’s pursuing against these individuals … and I’m not about to argue with an FBI director. I’m simply making the point that in the end, you have a president in place that has a lengthy connection to the sports world, rife with friends and enemies. And those who are his enemies, he doesn’t mind inconveniencing one bit. And when it comes to the NBA brand, it doesn’t bother him.”
Smith, known for his strong opinions in sports, has become more involved with politics in recent months. In September, he debuted a new podcast, Straight Shooter, where Smith discusses politics and social issues, a shift from his normal sports content.
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