Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday called into a Pittsburgh morning radio show to say the seizure of Venezuela's leader on the orders of President Donald Trump was "crazy" and indicative of a "bully's weakness" that sets a poor precedent for the United States' foreign adversaries.
"I reject President Trump's belief that we should be engaging in regime change wars," Shapiro said on KDKA's Big K Morning Show.
The first-term Democrat, widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, criticized Trump for "Operation Absolute Resolve," which took place on January 3 and involved U.S. forces capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife at a fortified compound in Caracas in the dead of night.
Trump said Saturday that the U.S. would now "run" Venezuela until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" could take place.
Venezuela is home to 17% of the world's known oil reserves, and Trump indicated that one aspect of his plan for the country is to allow U.S. businesses to tap those resources.
"It sounds like a massive nation-building project with basically no plan for what comes next, other than him (Trump) stealing Venezuela's oil to enrich his friends," Shapiro said, noting that countries like Russia and China are "taking lessons" from the U.S. action that could make Ukraine and Taiwan "more unsafe."
Trump also told reporters Sunday that other countries — including Cuba, Colombia and the territory of Greenland, which is governed by Denmark — could all be targets for similar operations in the future.
Those comments, especially, concerned Shapiro.
"I don't think this is strength," Shapiro said. "I think it's a bully's weakness."
Shapiro did not contest the Trump administration's many reasons for opposing Maduro's leadership. In fact, he agreed on many fronts.
"Maduro's a bad guy," Shapiro said. "He stole elections, he oppressed the Venezuelan people, he's been involved in drug trafficking and he's been indicted in the U.S. courts, and he has made common cause with our adversaries, Russia and Iran and China."
Maduro, who has led Venezuela since 2013, claimed victory in his 2024 reelection bid over opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, even as international election monitors declared that Maduro had lost.
Shapiro said he thinks Trump should focus on domestic issues, such as the price of groceries or the rising costs of health insurance premiums due to the expiration of extended Obamacare tax subsidies.
"So the idea that we're going to get tangled in foreign wars instead of fixing the problems here at home, that's my biggest beef with this," Shapiro said. "And I think that's the biggest concern that I see on the horizon."
Many Democratic lawmakers across the country have rejected Trump's actions against Maduro, echoing similar arguments to Shapiro.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman felt differently. In a Monday morning interview on "Fox & Friends," the Democrat, who has received criticism from his party for siding with the GOP on many issues, called the operation "a good thing."
Republicans' response
Most Republican lawmakers nationwide back Trump and have commended his seizure of Maduro. Among them is first-term U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick.
Speaking on KDKA immediately after Shapiro, McCormick called the operation "remarkable."
"President Trump said he was going to do it, and he carried through," McCormick said. "And I think it's a message to adversaries around the world."
McCormick said toppling Maduro was key to preventing the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. — a key argument made by the Trump administration as it has escalated tensions with the Maduro regime in recent months and bombed fishing boats it alleges were carrying illegal drugs.
Venezuela, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, is not a primary source of fentanyl smuggling. Fentanyl is mainly produced in Mexico using chemicals obtained from China, then brought across the U.S. border by land, the agency said.
"They're not produced in Venezuela. That's true," McCormick said. "But Venezuela is a trans-shipment hub. It's a narcoterrorist hub."
McCormick was optimistic about securing access to Venezuela's oil reserves.
"Unlocking this asset is going to bring prosperity to the Venezuelan people," he said. "And it's going to be a great source of energy for the world."
And capturing Maduro is only phase one of the plan, McCormick said. Phase two involves "nation-building," which McCormick said would be more difficult.
"I got confidence in the president's team," McCormick said. "But I think we need to proceed with some humility."
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