By framing the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro in euphemistic terms, the media is falling in line with Trump.

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.

And yet none of these acts of brazen aggression, violence, and violations of international law have, in any sustained or meaningful way, been referred to as acts of war, a coup, or invasion in U.S. mainstream media reporting.

  • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
    131·
    6 days ago

    The EU needs the US because of Ukraine. Their defense industry will take years to develop. Even after, US Nato involvement is free money that the EU doesn’t have to spend.

    Besides, the US has been invading and overthrowing countries for decades without NATO saying anything.

    Even the blatant 2003 Iraq War was only France refusing their airspace. There was nothing from the EU about dissolving NATO because of US imperialism.

    • flandish@lemmy.world
      72·
      6 days ago

      nope. the US should be booted, Ukraine falls, and can blame it ON the US. fast forward and a generation later a cohort of pissed off MS Flight Sim enthusiasts will provide us with another day to “never forget.”

    • FiniteBanjo@feddit.onlineEnglish
      33·
      5 days ago

      A lot of people are comparing this to the Iraq War, but the thing is the USA had to drum up evidence to provide to US Congress and to the UN and NATO before it ever tried entering Iraq. Bush, Cheney, and the CIA came up with pictures of Aluminium Tubes and claimed they were for developing Nuclear Weapons (supposedly they were actually for Hydro-electric).

      What Trump has done is far from anything that a US President has ever done. Do not normalize this.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.worldEnglish
        31·
        5 days ago

        It wasn’t normal when gwb did it. The shit wing of the party voted for it then and they’ll happily go along with it now for the exact same reasons. I realize he didn’t endorse harris, but trying to rehabilitate the reputation of a war criminal like you’re doing here isn’t going to get him to endorse newsom either.