Louder with Crowder: “Venezuela: Everything They Are Telling You is Bullsh*t”

Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Steven Crowder and crew

Overview

Main Theme:
Steven Crowder’s first episode of the year tackles the recent U.S.-led operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the implications for the U.S., Venezuela, and global geopolitics, and media/left-wing hypocrisy surrounding the event. Crowder provides a hard-right, nationalist perspective, openly celebrating what he sees as a return to U.S. interventionism and “killing commies.” The episode also pokes fun at celebrities like Ethan Hawke and politicians’ inconsistencies regarding Venezuela and international law.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Quick Hits & Tone Setting

• Crowder opens with banter about being on hiatus and anticipation for reaction to the Venezuela news among “libertarians” and “liberals.”
• He contrasts the current Venezuela situation to Iraq, dismissing left/libertarian concerns of another “regime change quagmire” as “asinine.”
• Quote: “To compare everything to Iraq is asinine... Can we at least all find some common ground that I’m glad the USA is... killing commies again.” (03:58)

2. Hollywood Cluelessness: Ethan Hawke Clip

• Crowder plays and ridicules a clip of Ethan Hawke awkwardly commenting on Venezuela and waxing poetic about power and corruption in history.
  • Crowder mocks Hawke’s self-importance and lack of depth: “Oh, you memorize someone else’s words, that makes you smart.” (20:08)
  • Notes Hawke’s “friendship” with Leopoldo López (imprisoned Venezuelan opposition leader) but mocks his lack of real support or understanding.
  • “You just described your friend being put in solitary confinement for three years and beaten, and you’re not celebrating the regime crumbling that did that to him?” (24:50)

3. Polling: GOP & Trump Nationalist Unity

• Crowder and team discuss that, contrary to liberal media narratives, support for Trump and the Republican line on Venezuela is overwhelming among GOP voters.
  • Harry Enten (CNN) cited as “our favorite” analyst: “The vast, vast majority of Republicans are with Donald Trump on this issue.” (41:40)
  • Democrats’ approval is at “historic lows,” both with independents and their own voters.
  • Approves of Trump’s “iron grip” on the GOP.
  • Jokes about Enten’s relentless enthusiasm and tangential observations.

4. Tim Walls and Corruption/Resignation Satire

• Segment on outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Walls in the wake of a Somali-led daycare fraud scheme; Crowder mocks Walls’ changing stances on resignation and his “over my dead body” rhetoric.
• Draws parallel to politicians making tough talk but lacking “follow-through” (compare to UFC analogy: “Don’t say it unless you’re willing to fight to the end.” 58:52)
• Crowder salutes Walls with a mock musical interlude.

5. Deep Dive: The Venezuela Operation

Winners:

• U.S. (restoring deterrence, Monroe Doctrine, energy security)
• Venezuelan people (end of starvation, economic collapse)
• Marco Rubio (“a hit was put out on him” by Maduro; now vindicated and safe)
• American oil interests
• The very idea of “deterrence” in foreign policy

Losers:

• China (largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, now boxed out)
• Russia (air defense tech failed; lost a puppet)
• Canada (competing for heavy oil markets)
• Maduro, Cuba (loses its patron)
• The concept of “international law” (“it’s imaginary, it’s fairy dust” 1:51:31)
• U.S. left/libertarians/celebrities (hypocrites for flipping on their stance depending on what Trump does)

Main Arguments:

• U.S. military action was clean, effective, and just.

• Crowder frames this as a reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine; “the Western Hemisphere is our top priority.”

• Disputes left-wing and libertarian complaints by noting that massive Venezuelan migration began under socialism, not after the intervention: “If people starve in their own country, they try to leave. This is actually a step toward correcting that.” (1:09:08)

• On oil: Proudly asserts that U.S. is entitled to the oil investments Venezuela nationalized, and that “empires” would have just taken resources without paying.

  “Empires don’t pay for resources, they take them and rape your face. That’s what they do.”
  — Crowder (1:15:19)

• On “deterrence”: Trump followed through, unlike Biden/Obama — the world is reminded of U.S. power.

• Mocks Democrats/Europeans for demanding Maduro’s removal, but then crying about international law when Trump acts.

• Compares U.S. actions to infamously effective Mongol and Roman conquests to illustrate the value of following through on threats.

6. The Left and Libertarians: “Goalpost Movers”

• Crowder accuses leftists and “black-pill” libertarians of always opposing whatever Trump does, moving the goalposts again and again.
  • Example: “If it’s morally good or benefits the US, the left will be against it.” (2:07:00)
• Highlights their inconsistency with examples from Sen. Murphy and Sen. Duckworth, whose positions on Venezuela changed as Trump’s did.
  • “You don’t need to adapt to these charlatans.” (2:11:00)
• Calls out libertarians predicting endless doom: “Always someone’s making a prediction and they’re never held accountable for these predictions. The left is never held to account for their policies...” (2:13:25)
• Asserts that predictions of World War III or a quagmire have failed repeatedly (“Is anyone actually still trying to make the case... that it escalated things? International law doesn’t exist, but winning does. And turns out it’s popular with Americans.” 2:14:30)

7. Global & Regional Fallout

• Rips into China’s loss (oil and military influence), Russia’s failed air defense tech, and Canada’s vulnerability in the oil market.
• Notes that 32 Cuban officers were killed in the raid; Cuba may “collapse next.”
• Asserts “communism and socialism hurt everything it touches,” and points to pre-revolution Cuba’s GDP versus its collapse today. (1:41:00)
• “If Cuba opened up, you would see it become a first world country immediately, if only based on United States tourism.” (1:41:40)

8. What’s Next for Venezuela and U.S. Policy

• Polling: Americans now broadly support the operation and Maduro standing trial in the States.
  • “Americans like what they deem to be successful foreign policy operations.” (2:16:30)
  • Even a plurality of Democrats supports the idea of Maduro being tried in the U.S.
• Crowder encourages that future Venezuelan governments simply not “screw us out of contracts” and stay out of the China/Russia camp.
• Dismisses ongoing predictions of chaos: “I’ll take a win here and there.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “To compare everything to Iraq is asinine.” (03:58)
• “Oh, you memorize someone else’s words, that makes you smart.” (Crowder on Hawke, 20:08)
• “Empires don’t pay for resources, they take them and rape your face.” (Crowder, 1:15:19)
• “The boogeyman exists and he wears an American flag on his shoulder.” (1:13:20)
• “As a bonus, this stings for China and Russia." (1:33:10)
• “International law is not a thing. It’s imaginary, it’s fairy dust, and thank God the most powerful country on Earth is the United States.” (Crowder, 1:51:31)
• (On leftists/goalpost moving): “You constantly move the goalposts... Do they line up with the left on most issues? Do they constantly move goalposts? That is a tactic of the left because their ideas don’t stand up to scrutiny.” (2:12:20)
• “Americans like what they deem a successful foreign policy operation.” (2:16:30)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Podcast banter, recap of hiatus, intro to Venezuela subject
• 07:30–12:10 – “We Didn’t Start the Fire” parody/cultural/political news rundown
• 19:00 – Hollywood/Liberal take—Ethan Hawke on Venezuela (mocked at length)
• 41:00 – Polls on GOP, Trump, and support for Venezuela action
• 44:00–54:00 – CNN’s Harry Enten enthusiastically presents data
• 56:30–1:03:30 – Tim Walls resignation, Minnesota corruption bit, “over my dead body” rhetoric
• 1:05:30 – Main Venezuela summary: Winners, losers, summary of events
• 1:13:20 – Justification of U.S. action, comparisons to historical deterrence (Mongols, Romans)
• 1:21:00 – U.S. oil interests and rationale for intervention
• 1:28:30–1:38:40 – Collateral impact on China, Russia, Cuba, and Canada
• 1:41:00 – Cuba’s collapse, socialism/communism’s economic record
• 1:51:31 – “International law is not a thing.”
• 2:07:00 – Left/libertarian goalpost shifting, Trump derangement critique
• 2:16:30 – Updated polling: Americans now support the operation
• 2:22:00 – Wrap up; future for Venezuela/U.S., audience Q&A tease

Style & Tone

Throughout, Crowder is brash, mocking, anti-left, and openly celebratory of American power—intentionally insensitive to those who prefer diplomatic or legalistic perspectives, and quick to puncture what he sees as elite or hypocritical pieties. The episode is riddled with inside jokes, satirical musical bits, and skepticism of both left and libertarian dissenters, with nationalistic overtones.

For listeners unfamiliar with the current Venezuela crisis or the show’s angle:

Crowder presents a right-wing, populist lens: America acted decisively to remove a left-wing dictator. The left/media/libertarians only oppose this because Trump is responsible, not on principle. The action secures U.S. interests (oil, deterrence), humiliates enemies (China, Russia), and most actual Venezuelans are happy about it, not victims of it. International law is dismissed as a fiction; power and national benefit are foregrounded.

End of summary.