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WHAT WOULD DONALD Trump have to do for the U.S. media to frame what he is doing in Venezuela as an act of war?

This isn’t a rhetorical question. It’s an actual inquiry, the pursuit of which can reveal a lot about how U.S. media’s default posture is state subservience and stenography. In the past few months, President Trump has committed several clear acts of war against Venezuela, including: murdering — in cold blood — scores of its citizens, hijacking its ships, stealing its resources, issuing a naval blockade, and attacking its ports. Then in a stunning escalation on early Saturday morning, the administration invaded Venezuela’s sovereign territory, bombing several buildings, killing at least 40 more of its citizens, kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their bed, and announcing they will, henceforth, “run” the country.

This episode seems to indicate that the president can do almost anything in the context of foreign policy, and the media will still overwhelmingly adopt language that is flattering and sanitizing to the administration when describing what has unfolded. This dynamic reached a new low Saturday morning, when the U.S. media rushed to frame the administration’s unprovoked attack as, at worst, a “ratcheted up” (CBS News) “pressure campaign” (Wall Street Journal) and, as was more often the case, some type of limited narcotics police “operation” (CNN).

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[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago

USA Nukes Poland

"The president took another eyebrow-raising strategy today, let's talk to a panel of assorted youtube streamers to analyze what he meant with this action..."

[-] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 4 points 3 weeks ago

Friggin RIGHT?!?!?!

The semantics at play indicate the media "watchdogs" have put their tails between their legs and pissed themselves.

[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Media is just bought and controlled by the corporate donor class who have installed this administration to begin with. Every major outlet is compromised.

Every time you see media making the administration angry or they have spats, it's just performance. I think if everyone realized how much of what we are experiencing is kayfabe people would have a mental breakdown.

[-] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 weeks ago

I keep trying to point this out to my mother, who keeps overreacting to one news story after another. She agrees in the moment that it's all theater, then goes right back to being outraged by every obvious bait story.

[-] xenomor@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago

If China decided that trump had violated some domestic law of theirs, and sent their military into Florida, dragged him and his third wife out of their beds, flew them back to their territory, and put them in prison, would these assholes consider that an act of war?

[-] velindora@lemmy.cafe 3 points 3 weeks ago
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[-] aarch0x40@piefed.social 3 points 3 weeks ago
[-] JLock17@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

50% chub, and rising.

[-] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

MAGA would be screaming about it until the end of time if that happened. Because it's different. Somehow.

[-] amorangi@lemmy.nz 3 points 3 weeks ago

It's called American Exceptionalism, and it's much older than MAGA.

[-] Witchfire@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Don't promise me a good time

[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

Stop, I can only get so erect.

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

They'd say "interesting that you'd use China as an example you commie"

[-] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 1 points 3 weeks ago

They could've said any European country and everyone would have just laughed.

[-] rylock@piefed.zip 10 points 3 weeks ago

ABC was covering it like it was a football game. "Incredible performance from the US military", "Flawless victory over the Venezuelans", "Impressive display of professionalism from the troops"

Makes me sick.

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago

That is nauseating. These are human lives, 80 people died

[-] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 2 points 3 weeks ago

That's cause only white people matter.

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[-] SarahFromOz@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,”

Or the support of the press !

[-] NateNate60@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Major news organisations in general are really scared when it comes to pointing out things which are extreme, because they believe describing those things as extreme will lead to accusations of sensationalism. The reason they think that is because sensationalist outlets are indeed more likely to describe everything as extreme and make unjustified comparisons to extremities, so major media outlets often think that to be "unbiased" is to refuse to acknowledge that an action is extreme.

Vox described this as the "this is fine" bias.

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Major "news" organisations are owned by oligarchs who support Trump so they have abandoned any pretence of accountability

[-] ripcord@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Once you have replaced the press leadership with lackeys then yes. They had a very very productive 2025 for doing things to eliminate resistance

[-] random_character_a@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

"Special military operation"

[-] TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 weeks ago

Hey if big daddy Putin can do it, why can't diaper Donny?

[-] Bakkoda@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Billionaire owned media isn't covering this?

[-] OshagHennessey@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

The US media is owned by the same oligarchs who benefit from his fascism. Why would they bite the hand that feeds?

[-] Naevermix@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

It is an act of war, the "capture" of Maduro is a kidnapping, and the deaths of ~80 cuban and venezuelan security and civilians is murder.

USA is a rogue state.

[-] bytesonbike@discuss.online 1 points 2 weeks ago

Not many people are bringing up that the US invaded a country and not only kidnapped a guy, but left a trail of bodies.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-attack-venezuela-death-toll-rises-80-civilians-and-military-personnel-1

[-] shiftymccool@piefed.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Please, we desperately need to be invaded and conquered by the most convenient communist country

Edit: not sarcasm

[-] CircaV@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago
[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Will be interesting to see what Maduro’s trial judge says.

[-] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

The subscription billionaire media companies are all complicit, and have been for quite a while.

[-] melfie@lemy.lol 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

As written by General Buttler in 1935, War is a Racket. The billionaire cabal benefits from war immensely, and the media they own and control will always sing the praises of war.

[-] CircaV@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

The world is sleepwalking into WWIII

[-] Lembot_0006@programming.dev 1 points 3 weeks ago

Does Venezuela see this as an act of war? Regardless of if they're going to fight or not. Ask people.

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[-] velindora@lemmy.cafe 1 points 3 weeks ago

It’s just locker room abduction.

[-] sturmblast@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

This was an act of war wrapped in the shroud of narcotics enforcement

[-] joyjoy@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

Special Millitary Operation in Venezuela. Quick 30 minute adventure. 

[-] random_character_a@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Dipshits are gonna be greedy, fuck it up and turn it in to an another Afganistan. This time really close to home.

Nobody likes Maduro. They should play with that, take their successful 30min and exit.

[-] timewarp@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

First, the MSM always props up the MIC. If this is surprising to you now, maybe you should revisit history. Second, the capture of Maduro was also Biden's policy. Did you forget already?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9ezyw0keo

[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Funny... I don't recall Biden invading Venezuela, or drumming up lies about drugs then stealing their oil.

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[-] FiniteBanjo@feddit.online 0 points 3 weeks ago

Do ya'll not have search engines? Literally anybody can find like 20 articles calling it an Act of War with the press of a button.

[-] Bakkoda@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

And you can find as many saying it isn't. Confirmation bias is in play here

[-] J92@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

Christ, I hope my country is putting some serious effort into jailbreaking their F-35s.

[-] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

So long as you’re fine with whatever consequences the US is willing to impose on you for doing so, this can’t seriously be that hard—right? IIRC, the US just controls the server that signs flight plans? So… worst case scenario, that’s managed by a chip without any write access? Reverse engineer the little chip to ask your own server for permission, no?

Given we’re talking about state-sponsored capabilities here, am I oversimplifying things? I don’t feel like I am.

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this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
46 points (97.9% liked)

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