The US' military intervention in Venezuela has revealed divisions within President Donald Trump's political base, with some Republicans welcoming the move while others questioning whether it contradicts his long-standing "America First" pledge to avoid foreign interventions, according to media reports.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Trump's decision to send US forces to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has unsettled parts of the MAGA movement, which has traditionally opposed prolonged overseas military involvement.
While many Republicans described the operation as a strategic success that protects US interests in the Western Hemisphere, critics within Trump's coalition expressed concern over the lack of clarity about Washington's plans for Venezuela following the intervention.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon praised the execution of the military operation but criticized the administration's messaging, saying the lack of a clear framework on a potential occupation had left Trump's base "bewildered, if not angry." Bannon warned that the lack of a clear narrative on the scope and limits of the intervention risked alienating supporters who backed Trump for his opposition to prolonged foreign involvement.
Conservative commentator Candace Owens was among those who condemned the intervention, comparing it to past US military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. "The CIA has staged another hostile takeover of a country at the behest of a globalist psychopaths," she said in a post on US social media company X.
Criticism also emerged from some Republican lawmakers. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the move resembled previous regime-change efforts that failed to serve American interests, while Representative Thomas Massie argued the operation was driven by oil interests and regime change rather than counter-narcotics objectives.
Despite the backlash, Trump, speaking to The Atlantic on Sunday, dismissed concerns about the intervention, arguing that rebuilding or regime change would be better than the status quo in Venezuela.
"You know, rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now," he said. "Can't get any worse."
