The ‘Peace President’ Goes To War For Oil
And his base cheers him on.
By Jeff Nesbit
Donald Trump this weekend launched a military invasion of a sovereign nation to seize its natural resources, and the movement that once chanted “No New Wars” is cheering him on.
On Saturday, the world watched as U.S. forces descended on Caracas in a brazen raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
But while the geopolitical pundits are busy analyzing the fallout in Beijing and Moscow, they’re missing the most critical betrayal happening right here at home.
The man who won a second term promising to be the “Peace President”—the candidate who swore to put “America First” by extricating us from foreign quagmires—has just dragged the United States into an international conflict that could include direct military occupation of a South American country.
And he hasn’t even tried to hide his reason. It isn’t democracy. It isn’t human rights. It’s oil.
For years, the MAGA gospel was built on a foundation of isolationism. The logic was simple and, to many voters, appealing: American blood and treasure should not be spilled to police the world.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump relentlessly attacked the “forever wars“ of the establishment, presenting himself as the only barrier between America and World War III.
Yet, this weekend, that barrier disintegrated. Standing before the press at his Florida home on Saturday, fresh from watching the raid unfold on a screen like a television show, Trump didn’t speak the language of a reluctant warrior. He spoke the language of a corporate raider.
He explicitly stated that the United States intends to “run” Venezuela for a transition period to “get the oil flowing.” He has reminisced about how Venezuela “took all our oil” and declared, with zero ambiguity, “We want it back.”
This isn’t a humanitarian intervention; it’s a hostile takeover.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking, but the reaction from his most vocal supporters is even more telling. The same voices in the MAGA ecosystem who spent the past four years excoriating the “neocons” and the “military-industrial complex” have pivoted instantly to applaud this use of force.
Take Pete Hegseth, a prominent voice in the movement and now a key figure in the administration’s orbit, who summed up the operation with a phrase that values machismo over strategy: Maduro, he said, “effed around, and he found out.”
On social media, the anti-war principles of the “America First” movement have vanished, replaced by triumphant jingoism.
“Make Venezuela Great Again” memes have already begun circulating. The online MAGA echo chambers, usually hyper-critical of foreign intervention, are now flooding timelines with praise for Trump’s “strength” and “decisiveness.”
The narrative has shifted overnight: “Peace” no longer means avoiding conflict; it means striking first and taking what we want.
This aggression hasn’t occurred in a vacuum. It follows a disturbing pattern of behavior over the past year in which Trump has turned his ire toward allies and neighbors.
We have watched him threaten Canada—our closest ally—with economic devastation through tariffs, treating a friendly border like a battle line. He’s threatened to take Greenland—including in a recent interview in The Atlantic. (The wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller posted over the weekend an image of Greenland decorated like the American flag with the word “soon.”) He has bullied European partners and rattled sabers across the globe.
The “Peace President” is an aggressive bully, and Venezuela is simply the first victim to be mugged in broad daylight.
The capture of Maduro may be celebrated as a tactical victory, but it is a strategic and moral defeat for the philosophy Trump claimed to represent. By invading Venezuela to secure oil reserves, Trump has validated the worst caricatures of American imperialism—the very caricatures he once claimed to despise.
We are no longer “putting America First” by staying out of foreign conflicts. We are putting America in the center of them, driven not by defense but by plunder.
And the saddest part? The many millions of Americans who supposedly voted for peace are now applauding an act of war that could prove deadly—and costly—to Americans.
Jeff Nesbit was the public affairs chief for five Cabinet secretaries or agencies under four presidents.
The MAGA Voodoo Cult never supported him for his statement (lie) about war. It was and is because he scratches their racist, religious, sexist Bigot Bellies. His base and what was the Republican Party has always been an alliance between Vampire Capitalists (especially Big Oil) and the White Male Christian Theocrats who believe that the US is and should be dominated only by themselves.
I honestly believe that this behavior--which will likely continue--stems from Trump's sociopathic ego requiring a bigger and bigger thrill continually, and the best, most noticeable thrills come from the pain and loss of others. Now that he has no obligations to voters, donors, the courts, or Congress, what is an idle, predatory president to do? He will spend three years threatening and attacking anything and everything, looking for one more thrill that, inevitably, won't last.