Under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress can declare war and give a president the authorization to go to war. That law was ignored over the weekend as President Donald Trump staged an attack on Venezuela and captured Nicolás Maduro, who refused to leave the presidency after being ousted in the summer of 2024.
One New York Times columnist noted during a CNN panel Sunday that the excuses Trump gave for not even informing Congress doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
CNN reporter and host Manu Raju asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) whether Trump had articulated his objective on Venezuela.
"I think they've articulated their legal authority," Graham shot back. "I think they've articulated how they decide to blow somebody up or not. But I want clarity right here. President Trump is saying his days are numbered. That seems to me that he's got to go. If it's the goal of taking him out because he's a threat to our country, then say it. And what happens next, don't you think most people want to know that they gave an answer that was confusing to me."
The CNN panel broke into laughter.
"Confusing to me," repeated Raju.
"If they were confused, was confusing to him. Imagine all the rest of us," said New York Times reporter David Sanger.
Trump's excuse for not even telling Congress was the claim of leaks.
"You know, Manu, the Gang of Eight does not leak," said Sanger. "I've been at this for a little while now. They may, after the operation is over, step in and criticize, but at that point, the operation is over. But they do not blow operations in advance. Neither, by the way, does, you know, mainstream media. When they learn of these things in advance."
"So, so the president's argument here, I did not think carried a whole lot of water," he continued. "The second part of this is you could separate out grabbing him as the U.S. grabbed Noriega in 1989, and say, that's the law enforcement part of that. But you have to separate out the law enforcement part from the part we were just discussing, which is the virtual occupation part, the part where we say we now will be essentially running your government. You can do