Vice President Vance and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) are feuding over the Trump administration’s decision to destroy a Venezuelan ship in the Caribbean, ostensibly because the ship was carrying illegal drugs.
Let no one say that MAGA is a monoculture. Prominent conservative political figures and supporters of President Trump’s agenda are united against Democrats, the left and the mainstream media, but they frequently disagree amongst themselves on policy — particularly foreign policy. This disagreement is healthy, and the more public it is, the better.
I want to see my political leaders actively arguing with each other. That’s democracy, that’s free speech and it’s how good policy gets made. Liberals and mainstream commentators think it’s embarrassing when Trump feuds with other people in public, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but as an informed citizen, I’d rather witness the disagreement than have it take place behind closed doors. Disagreements are keeping the MAGA movement fresh, and vital — and are a big reason that the current incarnation of the GOP has effectively outcompeted the Democrats, who are obsessed with gatekeeping and kicking anyone who dissents out of the coalition.
But I digress: onto the substance of debate.
Last week, U.S. forces hit a Venezuelan drug ship alleged to be part of a Tren de Aragua drug smuggling ring. The boat was struck in open waters in the Caribbean, and 11 suspected cartel members were killed. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the drugs were headed for some other South or Central American shore, perhaps Trinidad.
The vice president reacted positively to the news, writing on X: “Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”
Liberal X personality Brian Krassenstein replied: “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.”
To which Vance responded: “I don’t give a s—t. what you call it.”
That reaction drew a strong rebuke from Sen. Paul, who wrote on X that it’s “a despicable and thoughtless sentiment to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
Look, I’m not going to tone police the vice president, and I agree that U.S. foreign policy should not generally be constrained to international law or the laws of other countries. However, I do think Vance should care, and does care, about whether attacking and killing cartel members in the Caribbean is a good idea.
I also want Vance and President Trump to keep in mind their promise to the American people, and to their voters in particular, that the U.S. would launch no new wars under Trump. That’s a key promise, a vital component of the MAGA agenda and a winning message. But now we’re changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, and worse, we’re speculating openly about regime change in Venezuela.
The Nicolas Maduro government is corrupt, it is authoritarian and it is socialist — if it falls, it falls. Good riddance. But it’s not the U.S.’s job to arrange that outcome, or to become complicit in whatever follows. Moreover, the U.S. has not declared war on Venezuela. The cartels are criminal associations, and we can disrupt their activities to the extent they are affecting U.S. citizens, but should we really go around wiping them out when they’re involved in disputes that have nothing to do with us?
Trump still seems to be on solid ground on the issue, and is actually downplaying the idea of regime change in Venezuela currently. That’s a relief, and he should stick to that.
The administration should also back off some of this “tough guy” rhetoric. There’s sounding like a tough guy, and acting like a tough guy — it behooves our leaders to know the difference.
What Rand Paul understands is that U.S. citizens are best served by a policy of not overly involving ourselves in the affairs of other countries. Further, drug smugglers would love if we prosecuted the drug war even more aggressively, because it makes the demand for their drugs even higher. We can’t bomb or kill our way to victory in the drug war: if we could, we would have won it 40 years ago.
So while I’m not shedding any tears on behalf of dead cartel thugs, it’s nevertheless important to remain wary about the prospect of the U.S. becoming embroiled in yet another disastrous overseas intervention. Vance had the right instincts on this when it came to the Houthis in Yemen, and sounded a note of caution when other people in the administration wanted to strike them. As always, America First!
Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.
