It's a trap and Democrats are falling into it again.

In Venezuela and around the world, Venezuelans from every walk of life are celebrating the downfall of dictator Nicholas Maduro. Jubilant social media posts, parties, and impromptu celebrations of every description have sprung up in wake of news most Venezuelans have been waiting a very long time to hear.

Venezuela is, for better or worse, is finally free of the deadly and devastating rule of Nicholas Maduro at last.

Nobel peace prize winners, Venezuelan expats, foreign policy experts, diplomats — almost everyone, near universally — all greeted the news of a successful military operation to remand Maduro into U.S. custody to face charges of narcoterrorism with joy and relief.

But not Democrats.

Donald Trump is bad, their thinking goes, therefore everything Donald Trump says and does is bad. Therefore, it is every good liberal’s sworn duty to oppose, without further evidence, everything Donald Trump says and does at all times. Anything less would be akin to providing aid and comfort to the enemy.

Being so predictable has disadvantages, however.

Donald Trump keeps pinning Democrats on the wrong side of 80/20 issues. Trump takes the 80% position, knowing Democrats will go way overboard to oppose him with the 20% side comprised of (usually) far left progressives who aren’t likely to vote Republican in any case.

“In Venezuela Takeover, Trump Makes It All About the Oil,” harrumphed S.V. Date for HuffPost on January 3, 2026. 

Elsewhere, progressive media coverage was much the same. Overnight, Code Pink was mobilized to protest Trump’s actions in Venezuela. Among elected Democrats, the reaction was similar.

“There’s been no evidence that the administration has presented, to justify the actions that were taken in terms of there being an imminent threat, to the health, the safety, the well-being, the national security of the American people,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told the press over the weekend. “This was not simply a counter-narcotics operation. It was an act of war. It involved, of course, the Delta Force. And we’re thankful for the precision by which they executed the operation and thankful for the fact that no American lives were lost.”

“But this was a military action involving Delta Force, involving the Army, apparently involving thousands of troops, involving at least 150 military aircraft, perhaps involving dozens of ships off the coast of Venezuela and South America,” Rep. Jeffries claimed. “So, of course, this was the military action. And pursuant to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war, to authorize acts that take place in this regard. And we’ve got to make sure when we return to Washington, DC, that legislative action is taken to ensure that no further military steps occur absent explicit congressional approval.”

But not everyone is onboard, however. Some Democrats are, if quietly, cautioning the party against opposing Trump on Maduro’s arrest.

“Advice to Democrats Regarding Maduro Arrest: Resist Reflexive Opposition,” cautioned Lanny J. Davis for Real Clear Politics this week.

Democrats, he cautions, must “explain their own double standard when it comes to Maduro.”

“For starters, one of the Biden administration’s last foreign policy acts was to increase the reward for the arrest of Maduro, whom the United States did not consider to be Venezuela’s legitimate president, to $25 million,” Davis pointed out.

If Davis is right — and Trump’s approval numbers since the Venezuela operation suggest that he is — Democrats may need to adjust their strategy.

Asked about President Trump’s approval rate in the context of the Venezuela operation, CNN chief statistician Harry Enten had some hard news for Democrats on Tuesday.

“Yes, it’s been a dramatic change in a direction that I think the president of United States will like,” Enten told the CNN news host. “Because what are we looking at here? OK, U.S. military ousting Maduro. Pre-ousting. What you saw was the clear plurality of Americans opposed it 47 percent. Just 21 percent support it.”

“After the ousting, look at that, the support through the roof,” Enten explained. “Now we’re talking about 37 percent. Well within the margin of error right here of the opposition, 38 percent. It turns out Americans like what they deem to be successful foreign policy operations. And in this case, they view the ousting of Maduro, at least up to this point, as a successful one, and therefore the support, way up.”

“What about the idea of putting Maduro on trial here in the United States?” CNN host John Berman asked. 

“Yes, you know, part of the reason why I think that the success number is way up, and you saw it here, what was it, it was 26 points in favor of opposition, and now within the margin of error, is because they, simply put, don’t like Nicolas Maduro,” Enten answered. “And in fact, they believe that he should be on trial for drug trafficking.”

“Look at this, 50 percent of Americans favor compared to just 14 percent who oppose,” Enten demonstrated. “So, there are very few Americans here who oppose it. Even among Democrats, the opposition number is below, get this, just 24 percent. It is below 25 percent. So, this is something that unites Republicans. It divides Democrats. And at this particular point, support for the operation, way up. And in terms of those who favor the drug trafficking trial for Maduro, that is a clear plurality.”

“It turns out that Americans like success,” Enten expressed. “That is what they like in foreign policy. They like success. And it’s not just so far in Venezuela. We can go back to those Iran strikes, right, in the middle of last year. And take a look here, net approval for the U.S. airstrikes on those Iran nuclear facilities. In June the net approval rating was minus nine points. But by July it was plus four points. So, I think the two major U.S. operations overseas militarily, those airstrikes on Iran, and so far what we’re seeing in Venezuela, both of those, the American people were quite skeptical at first and then came much more round to it, came much more around Donald Trump’s point of view once the military took action.”

“Obviously these things can change, again, depending on conditions inside those countries,” Berman cautioned. “But where things stand now, very notable.”

Notable indeed. Democrats might want to take note.

(Contributing writer, Brooke Bell)