Trump Moves Closer to Actual War in Venezuela

Whatever we attribute it to, voters seem genuinely surprised by and apprehensive toward the leveling of the White House’s East Wing to make room for the ballroom the president has been discussing and promoting for months. Even Donald Trump’s allies are expressing palpable trepidation over the political risks he’s invited.

If that’s how the public has responded to something as banal as a construction project on the White House’s grounds, imagine how they would react to a real, protracted war in the Western Hemisphere — one that could culminate in the functional equivalent of a regime-change operation? That’s what the president casually advertised in an aside to reporters on Thursday.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Whatever we attribute it to, voters seem genuinely surprised by and apprehensive toward the leveling of the White House’s East Wing to make room for the ballroom the president has been discussing and promoting for months. Even Donald Trump’s allies are expressing palpable trepidation over the political risks he’s invited.

If that’s how the public has responded to something as banal as a construction project on the White House’s grounds, imagine how they would react to a real, protracted war in the Western Hemisphere — one that could culminate in the functional equivalent of a regime-change operation? That’s what the president casually advertised in an aside to reporters on Thursday.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.