Stephanopoulos: He said, you cannot credibly argue that drug trafficking charges demand invasion in one case while issuing a pardon in another. What's your response?
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 4, 2026
Rubio: In the case of Maduro, look, it's very simple. This guy was indicted.
Stephanopoulos: Hernandez was… pic.twitter.com/eI9QDLvbs7
Stephanopoulos: He said, you cannot credibly argue that drug trafficking charges demand invasion in one case while issuing a pardon in another. What’s your response?
Rubio: In the case of Maduro, look, it’s very simple. This guy was indicted.
Stephanopoulos: Hernandez was convicted by a jury.
Rubio: I can’t just comment on it because I just wasn’t involved in those deliberations.
Stephanopoulos: Do you support it?
Rubio: I wasn’t involved in those deliberations. I haven’t looked at the case file. I haven’t looked at the arguments made by—I’ve got a bunch of other things going on
He’s busy.
Except Trump said the U.S. is going to run the country.
BRENNAN: But you're describing the regime as still in place. I'm confused why the Trump administration only arrested Maduro. The chief thug who controls the police and has a $25m price on his head is still in place.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 4, 2026
RUBIO: You're confused? I don't know why that's confusing to… pic.twitter.com/0msSI8isj9
BRENNAN: But you’re describing the regime as still in place. I’m confused why the Trump administration only arrested Maduro. The chief thug who controls the police and has a $25m price on his head is still in place.
RUBIO: You’re confused? I don’t know why that’s confusing to you
BRENNAN: They are still in power
RUBIO: You’re gonna go in and suck up 5 people? They’re already complaining about this one operation
Huh?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump says the U.S. is going to “run Venezuela.” Under what legal authority?
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 4, 2026
RUBIO: We want a better future for the Venezuelan people.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’ll ask again — what is the legal authority?
RUBIO: We have court orders.
Pressed repeatedly, Rubio never… pic.twitter.com/ARIantqZeV
STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump says the U.S. is going to “run Venezuela.” Under what legal authority?
RUBIO: We want a better future for the Venezuelan people.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’ll ask again — what is the legal authority?
RUBIO: We have court orders.
Welker: Regime change historically speaking has not gone very well for the United States. Can you assure Americans that this time will be different?
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 4, 2026
Rubio: We've got this phobia built up… I watched these experts and it's clown hour. Venezuela looks nothing like Libya. It looks… pic.twitter.com/JEgoOkiyTP
Welker: Regime change historically speaking has not gone very well for the United States. Can you assure Americans that this time will be different?
Rubio: We’ve got this phobia built up… I watched these experts and it’s clown hour. Venezuela looks nothing like Libya. It looks nothing like Iraq and nothing like Afghanistan
Lol. We have a phobia about regime change? Gosh, I wonder why?
What?
Bash: "[Trump] has been arguing since he first ran…that he was going to end forever wars and put America first. Now he says he's running Venezuela, he's totally open to putting boots back on the ground there, and he's signaling that Cuba and Colombia could be next. How is that… pic.twitter.com/rimRsuw5pk
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) January 4, 2026
Bash: “[Trump] has been arguing since he first ran…that he was going to end forever wars and put America first. Now he says he’s running Venezuela, he’s totally open to putting boots back on the ground there, and he’s signaling that Cuba and Colombia could be next. How is that America first?”
Jim Jordan: “I trust the president to make decisions that are in the best interest of Americans.”
BASH: The question is — what’s next?
JIM JORDAN: What I’m saying is, we’ll see. I trust Secretary Rubio, I trust Secretary Hegseth, I trust President Trump and him making decisions that are best for the American people
All hail Dear Leader.