Vice President JD Vance clapped back at Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockeett (TX-30) after she criticized the Trump administration’s decision to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
During an appearance on The View, the lawmaker discussed several issues, especially what happened in Venezuela.
“Everyone wants to talk about how Maduro was illegitimate,” Crockett said. “As we sit here on January sixth, I do want to be clear. Somebody else was trying to be a Maduro of the United States. Somebody else wanted to do the exact same thing. The difference is Maduro was successful.”
Crockett contended that President Donald Trump “doesn’t really believe in free and fair elections” and that he didn’t take action in Venezuela to protect national security but to access the nation’s oil.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett: "As we sit here on Jan. 6, I do want to be clear, somebody else was trying to be a Maduro of the United States. Somebody else wanted to do the exact same thing. The difference is Maduro was successful." pic.twitter.com/4VWhN42Oi7
— The View (@TheView) January 6, 2026
The lawmaker stated thta “This ain’t about Venezuelans,” and that she understands “that there are people that don’t like the leader,” but “ guess what, there are a lot of people that don’t like our leader.”
"And regardless, somebody coming into the United States and grabbing our leader in the middle of the night and killing people in this country, I’m sure everybody would be outraged at them doing it that way,” Crockett added.
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Vance responded during an appearance with Fox News’ Jesse Watters. “We engaged in a law enforcement action,” he said. “We had a legitimate indictment for Maduro for narco-terrorism, for weapons smuggling and weapons trafficking.”
We went in with the best military in the world. We got our guy. He's going to stand trial. By the way, he's given the full due process rights that are entitled to anybody who's in the United States. I think he's going to go away. He's going to be found guilty. That's not a kidnapping. That's a law enforcement operation. Jasmine Crockett, of all people, she has the least amount of room to talk on this stuff. She doesn't know what she's talking about. As the President said, you couldn't have a worse spokesperson, a person with less knowledge about world affairs. It's telling that she's the person speaking for the Democrats on this issue.
Vance: Jasmine Crockett—you couldn’t a have a person with less knowledge about world affairs. pic.twitter.com/inqoCbWHqB
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 8, 2026
Critics argue that the operation was illegal under international law and the U.S. Constitution because Congress never authorized it. Folks on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns that the operation could drag the U.S. into another costly, endless war like Iraq or Afghanistan. Trump’s statement that the White House would “run” Venezuela raised questions about whether this would turn out to be another failed regime change initiative.
Conversely, supporters of Maduro’s ouster argue that it was necessary to shield Americans from drug trafficking and to restore democracy to Venezuela. They contend that Maduro was essentially a drug kingpin whose operation pumped massive amounts of cocaine into the United States while killing Americans with fentanyl.
Others point to the Monroe Doctrine, a 200-year-old principle saying America has the right to position itself as the main power in the Western Hemisphere. Removing Maduro would impede Iran, Russia, and China from gaining more influence in the region.
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