Trump outdoes himself

 Somewhat lost in all the excitement and jubilation surrounding the ongoing liberation of Venezuela is the fact that it also acts as a serious rebuke to China.

Obviously seeking to throw some weight around in the Western Hemisphere, two Chinese-flagged VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers), the Thousand Sunny and the Xing Ye, were on their way toward Venezuela when Pres. Trump’s coup de main was carried out. Neither ship stopped or changed course after Pres. Trump ordered a complete blockade of Venezuela on Dec. 16. Evidently, they were under direct orders to continue, likely in an effort to break the blockade and humiliate Trump. Legacy media outlets were delighted at the prospect.

Nothing of the sort will now happen. With Maduro and his wife in custody and the regime thrown into chaos, the Chinese now have two choices: stop the tankers on the high seas and let them sit (the Xing Ye is already reported to have now done this) or order them back to China where they can tie up and rust. It’s not likely anyone will have much use for the Chinese shadow fleet at this point, with Venezuela’s dictatorship on the skids and Iran’s soon to follow.

Trump has always shown an admirable sense of economy in his foreign policy initiatives, particularly as regards the regrettable but necessary use of force. For a century and more previous administrations have been infected with the mental virus of Wilsonianism, in which any undertone of Realpolitik is banished and any use of military pressure, no matter how minor, had to be justified in every available venue and on every conceivable moral, legal, and ethical grounds. This resulted in a series of massive crusades which wasted time, resources, and energy, alerted the opposition as to what was coming, and often failed in practice, resulting in the humiliation of the U.S. and the creation of new problems for the future.

Compare this to Trump’s light touch, in which the precise amount of force needed to do the job is unleashed at the proper moment with no previous discussion or justification, and certainly with no warning. In Iran, Trump encouraged Israel to degrade Iranian armed forces – in particular its state-of-the-art SAM air defense systems -- then followed up with a single air strike by B-2 stealth bombers armed with the exact munitions (MOP bombs) intended for the job. Problem solved, with no sackcloth and ashes at the UN, no pleading for permission from “allies,” no leftist marches in front of the White House, and no waste of time, resources, or, most important, soldier’s lives.

But with Venezuela, Trump has outdone himself. Use of force was utterly minimal – a few cigarette boats sunk at sea, a few seizures of illegal tankers, a single airstrike on a narcoterrorist loading site, and finally, the arrest of the goons in charge. The result not only encompasses the ongoing collapse of Venezuela’s narcoterror Marxists (I’m sure old Karl never imagined that), but also a four-ball carom shot dealing body blows to Cuba, Iran, and China. No wonder the Venezuelan people are calling Trump “Don Maestro.”

I wonder – can we do something similar with those problem judges?  

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/01/trump_outdoes_himself.html