Why intervening in Venezuela is 'America first' for Trump

WashingtonDonald Trump has done to Venezuela what he has been doing within the country since returning to power: making his word law and legitimizing it by force. The international community watches in astonishment as the president has violated international law with the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, when this is commonplace in Trump's new United States. The unilateralism he has applied in Caracas is the same he has imposed on the country's judicial and legislative branches. The magnate's absolutist aspirations transcend domestic borders and reflect internal realities. However contradictory it may seem, Venezuela is also America first

In 2026, now overshadowed by the president's imperialist threats, the US began with the November congressional elections on the horizon and less than rosy prospects for Trump. The tycoon is starting the second year of his term with three significant problems: record-high unpopularity, a Republican party rebelling against his gag order, and the disappointment of the MAGA base over the Epstein papers. A joke has been circulating quite widely on social media lately, Credit to comedian Jimmy Kimmel: "How bad are the Epstein papers for Trump? Well, bad enough to justify an invasion of Venezuela." If maintaining his simple majority in Congress was already expected to be complicated, now it's even murkier.

On Tuesday, three days after kidnapping Maduro, Trump addressed Republican lawmakers at an annual event at the Kennedy Center in Washington and was already suggesting they would likely lose seats in the midterm elections: "They say that when you win the presidency, you lose whatever they said about my terms. I like people." Because, obviously, if Trump loses control of Congress, it won't be his fault. Although the tycoon has already demonstrated his willingness to overstep his bounds, losing Congress would be a major setback for his agenda: he wouldn't be able to execute his plans with the ease he has enjoyed until now; If the Democrats regain control of one of the chambers, they could begin to mount some real opposition and stop appearing powerless in the face of these attacks, and there would also be the risk that they might try to initiate impeachment proceedings. impeachment against him.

Peak of unpopularity

The last Gallup poll published at the end of 2025 showed the president's approval rating at only 36%, surpassing the lowest point of his first term, when disapproval stood at 37%. It is only two percentage points away from his all-time low: 34% in 2021, just after instigating the storming of the Capitol on January 6. Months before the end of 2025, some Republicans were already expressing unease about this year's midterm elections and still hoped Trump could champion their cause and help them stay in the game. Adding to this is the fact that Trump has also experienced a significant drop in popularity among Latino voters—including those who voted for him in the presidential election—who were key to his return to the White House. And his rural base has become the biggest loser in his trade war.

Trump promised to lower the cost of living, but in his first year in office, this hasn't happened, and consumers are frustrated. As a short-term solution, the president decided to buy 80,000 metric tons of beef from Javier Milei in Argentina. This, as he described in New York Times Kyle Hemmert, a Kansas rancher, said, "It's a real kick in the balls." He added, "Come on, President Trump, that really is the policy ofAmerica first"It isn't."

Lower prices and win back the Latino vote

In this context, the incursion into Venezuela is intended as a showy coup to try to regain popularity, stoking patriotic pride and projecting a strong US image amidst a breakdown of the established order. Detaining Maduro could also be a way to reconcile with part of the Latino electorate after withdrawing Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Venezuelans and subjecting the Latino community to a campaign of terror with the massive ICE raids. Furthermore, as Trump has repeatedly emphasized to Americans, the plundering of Venezuelan crude will be a kind of magic bullet for lowering the cost of living. The tycoon hopes that with the first payment from Caracas, up to 50 million barrels of oil (worth over $2.8 billion) will begin to make a difference. On Friday, when announcing his White House meeting with oil companies on Truth Social, he again emphasized this idea: "A very important factor in this engagement will be the reduction of the price of oil for the American people. Also, and perhaps most important of all, it will be to stop the entry of drugs and criminals into the United States of America."

Whether or not the plan will work remains to be seen. But Trump is doing the same thing he did with the lack of a ceasefire in Gaza—because Israel has continued to violate it–: to insist on an idea so that it eventually takes root in everyone's mind although it has not yet taken root on the ground. One Fake it till you make it (Fake it till you make it), as the Americans say. Although it's easier to sell a supposed peace to a country thousands of miles away than to sell the reality that prices have actually gone down when people keep going to the supermarket and see that the average price of about 400 grams of ground beef (one pound) is $6.32. That's 14% more expensive since Trump came to power. The calculations on the cost of beef come from the latest data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis in the fall.

The QAnon Shaman's Disappointment

It also remains to be seen whether the rereading ofAmerica first Trump's actions regarding Venezuela will also be supported by some of his followers. For now, the old guard MAGA figures have given their blessing and have become vocal in support of this campaign. Steve Bannon, who has been one of the main proponents of the United States focusing on its own affairs and ceasing to interfere in foreign matters, has used his war room to justify the conceptual shift ofAmerica firstLast Saturday, in an interview with theinfluencer Far-right critic Jack Posobiec, Bannon argued that "there couldn't have been a better wake-up call" to China, as the attack came hours after a Chinese delegation met with Maduro in Caracas. Posobiec said the move signals a "hemispheric defense" strategy under the "Trump Doctrine." Regarding the release of the Epstein papers—Trump signed a law to release all the documents—the Justice Department has currently only has revealed less than 1% of the total. But now it's no longer the main news. However, the MAGA base doesn't forgive, and many still remember the president's broken promise regarding the documents, which the tycoon has finally unblocked due to growing pressure from the base and the party. Two symbolic cases serve to measure the depth of the schism caused by the entire Epstein saga: those involving former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and the QAnon shaman who went viral during the Capitol storming.

On the anniversary of January 6—also overshadowed by the kidnapping of Maduro—and exactly one year after Trump granted a blanket pardon to all the stormers, CNN went to find Jacob Chansley, The QAnon shaman. The journalist asked Chansley if he still supports the Republican after he attacked Congress and received a pardon. "No, I thought you already knew that," Chansley replied with a hint of weariness. "Why not?" "The mere fact of refusing to release the Epstein list papers was enough for me, and for many other people, to say, 'Okay, this is all bullshit.'"

Greene's break with Trump is already a more well-known case and shows that the tycoon's absolute control over the party has begun to slip. From being one of Trump's most loyal supporters, she has become the face of internal dissent to the point that on January 5th she left her seat. The hope of redrawing the districts and gaining a few more seats in Congress. Venezuela has been an intense start to 2026, but the main course will be in November. With a third term looming, one question arises: Will Trump try to interfere in the legislative elections if he sees that he is losing the majority in Congress?