Category: Strikes on venezuela
Trump has an ‘iron grip’ on the Republican Party, says CNN analyst — even with minor dissent on Venezuela
While a few Republican politicians are dissenting on the issue of strikes in Venezuela, a CNN analysis found that President Donald Trump has an “iron grip” on the party.
Harry Enten said that polling showed there was no “rift” in the party and that a large majority supported the president. He made the comments during a segment on CNN Tuesday.
‘The vast, vast majority of Republicans are with Donald Trump on this issue.’
“Let me be very clear: There is no rift in the Republican Party!” Enten said forcefully.
“Yes, there are some folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie who are quite skeptical of this,” he added. “They are very much in the minority.”
Enten pointed to an Ipsos poll that found 65% of Republicans supported the ouster of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, while only 6% opposed the action. A Washington Post poll found that 74% of Republican respondents supported the action and only 10% opposed it.
“The vast, vast majority of Republicans are with Donald Trump on this issue,” he added. “Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene are very much in the minority. Very few Republicans are with them.”
He pointed to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that showed Republican support for the president actually increasing slightly from 84% six months ago, to 85% currently.
“The bottom line is this: Donald Trump has had an iron grip, an iron grip on that Republican base for a long period of time,” he added.
Video of Enten’s comments were widely circulated on social media.
Enten went on to say on social media that support for the Venezuelan strikes had increased among all Americans, likely because it was such a successful operation.
“Trump has to like the dramatic change in the polls on Maduro’s ouster,” Enten wrote. “Support for it is through the roof (up 16 pts) vs. pre-ouster. We saw a similar rise in support over time for the Iran strikes in mid-2025. Americans like what they deem as successful military operations.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Trump says US military has seized an oil tanker from Venezuela: ‘Largest one ever seized actually’
The U.S. military has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, according to comments made by President Donald Trump.
The president has warned government leaders of Venezuela that he would take action against narco-terrorists smuggling harmful drugs from the country into the U.S. Those actions have manifested in military strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean.
‘For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.’
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually.”
Sources told ABC News that the tanker is referred to as a VLCC, or very large crude carrier, and can carry as many as 2 million barrels of oil.
The president offered few details about the incident but said more information would be released soon.
“It was seized for a very good reason,” he added.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi offered more details in a statement on social media.
“Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran,” she wrote.
“For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” she added. “This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely — and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.”
She included video from the operation in the post.
Also on Tuesday, the president said in an interview with Politico that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s days were numbered.
RELATED: US strike against military targets in Venezuela could begin at any moment: Report
Democrats have accused the administration of committing war crimes in the strikes on alleged drug-runners. In one incident, two survivors of a strike on a boat were killed by a second strike, which many have said was illegal.
The Trump administration has put up a $50 million reward for the arrest of Maduro.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
