On Venezuela, Democrats Are Actually Acting Like an Opposition Party
The Democratic Party is unified in opposing Trump’s invasion of Venezuela. That’s a sign of two important and positive developments. The party isn’t as scared as it used to be of being portrayed by Republicans as “soft” on national security. And congressional Democrats, after spending the early part of 2025 being wary of criticizing Trump and voting for many of his Cabinet nominees, are bringing the fighting spirit they showed during the government shutdown into 2026.
You might be thinking that it should be easy and expected for the Democrats to oppose an ill-conceived, unauthorized overthrow of another country’s government by a fascist president. And well, yes, it should be. But the party has repeatedly blundered on foreign policy out of a desperate desire to seem tough and strong. Dozens of Democrats voting for the Iraq War, the overly expansive use of drone strikes by the Obama administration, Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan, the Biden administration aligning with Israel as it bombed not only Gaza but countries throughout the Middle East in 2024, and the party’s wariness about opposing Trump’s Caribbean basin boat strikes last year were all rooted in part in a desire to not be portrayed as a party of peaceniks. I was worried that Democrats would be unwilling to criticize Trump’s actions and therefore be portrayed as on the side of Maduro, no one’s idea of a hero.
Instead, Democrats have been loud, angry, and combative. They are scolding the administration for lying to them about its plans in Venezuela and invading another country without even briefing Congress. They’re forcing a debate on a War Powers resolution in the Senate—and even brought five Republican senators to their side on Thursday. They are pushing legislation to prevent invasions of Greenland or any other place. House Republicans will almost certainly block anything to rein in Trump. But Democrats are making a clear case to the public, the media, and the countries around the world that most Americans understand that Trump’s moves in Venezuela were radical and crazy even for him. That’s important and valuable.
