Trump Might Have His Hubris Checked in Venezuela |
Nothing is more intense for a president than using America’s awesome military capabilities. You could hear the exhilaration in President Donald Trump’s voice Sunday night as he talked to reporters about the previous day’s operations in Venezuela.
But this sense of raw power carries with it a hubris that has destabilized nearly every presidential administration for three decades. It’s a slippery slope, especially for a leader like Trump who believes he’s smarter and tougher than his predecessors. He seems convinced that he can take what he wants - presidents, countries, resources - without paying a price. The world doesn’t work that way.
Nothing is more intense for a president than using America’s awesome military capabilities. You could hear the exhilaration in President Donald Trump’s voice Sunday night as he talked to reporters about the previous day’s operations in Venezuela.
But this sense of raw power carries with it a hubris that has destabilized nearly every presidential administration for three decades. It’s a slippery slope, especially for a leader like Trump who believes he’s smarter and tougher than his predecessors. He seems convinced that he can take what he wants – presidents, countries, resources – without paying a price. The world doesn’t work that way.
After the stunning special-forces operation that snatched President Nicolás Maduro from his bunker early Saturday morning, Trump talked as if his power has no limits. Cuba “looks like it’s ready to fall.” Colombia is “run by sick man, not going to last very long.” He loves Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, but “cartels are running Mexico,” and he wants to send in U.S. troops. As for Greenland, territory of NATO ally Denmark,........