PART OF THE PROBLEM – EPISODE SUMMARY

Podcast: Part Of The Problem

Episode: "War With Venezuela"
Date: January 6, 2026
Host: Dave Smith
Guest: Robbie "The Fire" Bernstein

Overview

This episode dives headfirst into the sudden, shocking U.S. military action against Venezuela—specifically, the Trump administration's daring extraction (some call it kidnapping) of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. What follows is a whirlwind discussion of U.S. foreign policy, regime change, oil interests, moral implications, and the implications for both Venezuela and the U.S. Dave and Rob critically analyze the operation, Trump's rhetoric about "running" Venezuela, and the sharply divided reactions from the political right.

The episode’s tone is urgent, incredulous, and heavily skeptical of official narratives, lacing serious analysis with cutting sarcasm and libertarian critique.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Operation: Extraction of Maduro

• Historical Context (00:30–03:30):
  • Dave briefly covers Venezuela’s modern political history: Chavez’s socialism, his death and Maduro’s rise, U.S. antagonism, and previous regime-change attempts ("it’s been Marco Rubio’s wet dream to get a regime change there." – Dave, 01:17).
• Shock at the Operation (02:50–07:00):
  • Both hosts are surprised by the relative ease and speed:
    • “This was like the quickest regime change…that I’ve ever seen or read about.” – Dave (01:53)
    • Drawing comparisons to Panama and Iraq: “Just in terms of the military logistics—it’s pretty impressive.” – Dave (03:33)
  • Robbie notes: “I look forward to watching this in theaters in five years…I like when warfare actually goes against the elites.” (04:56)

2. Ethics & Effectiveness of Targeting Leaders

• Elites vs. Full-Scale War (04:56–07:00):
  • Robbie prefers targeting elites to mass civilian suffering: “Just going after the elites, which are usually off the table, is much better…better than a full scale war. That’s way better.” (04:56)
  • But he wonders about the risks: “On the flip side, we might have just destabilized another region.” (05:41)

3. Trump’s Press Conference & The "Judicious Transition"

• Trump: "We are going to run the country..." (08:20)

  • Trump declares, “We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.” (Trump, 08:20)

• Unpacking the Announcement (08:59–13:00):

  • Dave criticizes the lack of clarity: “How are we running Venezuela when we don’t have any boots on the ground?” (08:59)
  • The problem isn’t defeating the regime, it’s what comes next. Drawing parallels to Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan, Dave insists:
    • “In order to actually impose the next government you want, you almost always have to have a military occupation to do that.” (11:35)
  • He points out U.S. hubris: “You think you’re not going to get guerrilla fighters, you’re not going to get an insurgency?” (15:59)

4. The Oil Question

• "We just got $17 trillion in oil?" (15:01)

  • Dave mocks people cheering for a windfall:
    • “Except the one problem, Rob, is no, we fucking didn’t. We haven’t done any of that.” (15:56)
  • Reality check: “None of this demonstrates that we can now go in there and take all of their oil.” (16:56)

• Deal-making & Realpolitik (18:26–22:00):

  • Robbie posits that the real threat is to the oligarchs: “We signaled to the other guys, hey—you got two options. You can work with us and we can all make oil money, or you can get taken out.” (18:26)
  • But Trump’s plans remain cartoonish: “He didn’t fly the military down…Presence there. Have they agreed to that? What does that mean?” – Robbie (19:40)

5. Comparisons to U.S. Regime Change Past

• Panama vs. Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan
  • Will this be an easy transition (like Panama) or a chaotic quagmire (like Iraq/Libya)?
  • “There seems almost no chance that America gets $17 trillion in oil or that we liberated all the people of Venezuela.” – Dave (22:00)
  • “It was all for show. Even if Maduro was willing to give himself up, Donald Trump wanted a nice show for the military.” – Robbie (25:48)

6. Trump’s Continued Vague Rhetoric

• More Press Conference Flimflam (26:22–28:51):
  • Trump: “We’re going to be running it with a group and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly...The oil companies are already on board.” (26:22)
  • Robbie lampoons: “‘We’re running with a group. It’s going to be better for the people there. Our oil companies are happy. It’s all perfect. You don’t need any more information.’” (27:01)
  • Trump waffles on the “boots on the ground” issue: “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to...We’re there now, we’re ready to go again if we have to.” (27:49)

7. Moral & Practical Critiques

• On Justifications & Pretext (28:51–33:06):

  • Dave: “We are the socialists now. We’re going to institute welfare for the Venezuelan people.” (28:51)
  • Dave points out the enduring pattern: promises of being greeted as liberators, costs paid for by oil—always unfulfilled.

• Trump’s Motives & Strategy (33:06–34:21):

  • “He likes to be on every side of every issue and then talk like a madman, so you never know what he's going to do.” – Dave (33:06)
  • Robbie and Dave agree: there’s no coherent plan post-operation; the administration speaks in platitudes and vagaries.

8. Marco Rubio Responds: Sunday Show Soundbites (34:21–38:54)

• **Rubio Calls the Operation a Success… But Struggles with the Logic (35:26):
  • Rubio says grabbing five targets is “absurd,” praising the tactical achievement: “This is one of the most daring, complicated, sophisticated missions this country has carried out.” (35:58)
  • But Dave points out that much of the regime remains: “You got the one top guy but you left his entire crew of socialist thugs in power. So, like, what is the plan here?” (38:54)

9. Legal, Ethical, and Constitutional Issues

• International Law and Precedent (39:21–42:18):

  • Robbie and Dave mock the U.S.'s shifting standards on legitimacy and sovereignty:
    • “Trump is currently running Venezuela and he wasn’t voted by Venezuela.” – Robbie (40:45)
    • “Are you saying it would have been legitimate for…any other country who could…arrest Joe Biden and put themselves in charge?” – Dave (41:24)

• Constitutional Authority (47:17–48:41):

  • Dave is adamant: “It’s so obviously unconstitutional…That’s what the Constitution says you have to do.” (46:55–48:41)

10. Morality, Realpolitik, and American Identity

• Critique of Right-Wing Excuses ("Might Makes Right") (53:30–61:35):

  • Dave decries the "naked aggression" and abandonment of morality now openly espoused by some on the right:
    • “If it’s in our interest, therefore it’s okay…Don’t ever call yourself a Christian.” (57:50)
    • “If you’re going to make the argument that might makes right, also understand you now have no leg to stand on ever complaining about what your government does to you.” (59:30)
  • He ties it back to American founding principles: “You never read nothing from Thomas Paine like that. You guys all sound like Mao Zedong and Mussolini.” (60:09)

• Long-Term Strategic Risks (61:10–61:35):

  • Robbie: “If we’re going to play that game, other people are going to play that game…It’s also just not American.” (61:10)

11. Reaction, Right-Wing Hypocrisy, & War Mania

• Mission Accomplished Mania (63:00–67:12):
  • Dave laments the right’s return to "2003 retardation" and war fever:
    • “No one…wanted this. But then [Trump] turns around and goes, ‘we’re doing this,’ and then you tie yourself in pretzels to try to defend this guy.” (66:00)
  • “Anyone calling you a pussy for not wanting war—they’re tweeting. You didn’t fight anyone. Supporting war doesn’t make you tough.” (68:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Swiftness of the Operation:
  “This was like the quickest regime change…that I’ve ever seen or read about.”
  — Dave Smith (01:53)

• Robbie on the Movie-worthiness:
  “I love a good action movie and I look forward to watching this in theaters in five years…Actually just going after the elites...is much better.”
  — Robbie Bernstein (04:56)

• On Trump’s Announcement:
  “We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
  — Donald Trump clip (08:20)

• Dave's Reality Check:
  “Except the one problem, Rob, is no, we fucking didn’t. We haven’t done any of that.”
  — Dave, on claims of "getting $17T in oil" and "liberating Venezuela" (15:56)

• Robbie on the Vagueness of U.S. Plans:
  “We’re running it with a group. I can’t tell you who that group is or what that means…But don’t worry, it’s all already perfect.”
  — Robbie (27:01)

• Dave, on “Might Makes Right”:
  “If you think that that’s the way your government should operate…don’t ever call yourself a Christian…or a Jew or a Muslim...the idea of having no moral code whatsoever is just incompatible with any of the major religions.”
  — Dave (57:50)

• Dave’s parting shot at war cheerleaders:
  “Anyone calling you a pussy for not wanting war—they’re tweeting. You didn’t fight anyone. You didn’t go over there and do anything.”
  — Dave (68:45)

Timestamps for Major Segments

| Segment | Time | |---------------------------------------|--------------| | Venezuela background & operation | 00:30–07:00 | | Ethics of regime-change tactics | 04:56–07:00 | | Trump’s transition announcement | 08:20–12:00 | | Oil windfall claims debunked | 15:01–16:56 | | Deal-making and aftermath speculation | 18:26–22:00 | | “We’ll Run Venezuela” press answers | 26:22–28:51 | | Rubio on Sunday shows | 34:21–38:54 | | International law & legitimacy | 39:21–42:18 | | Constitutional critique | 46:55–48:41 | | Morality and right-wing reactions | 53:30–61:35 | | Hypocrisy & war fever | 63:00–68:45 |

Conclusion

The episode exposes the gaping holes in both the public rhetoric and practical planning behind the U.S. operation in Venezuela. Dave and Robbie lambaste the impulsiveness, lack of clarity, and moral vacuum in both the policy and its cheerleaders. The episode is a cutting reminder of the historic pitfalls of foreign interventionism, regime-change optimism, and the dangers of letting might (and short-term interest) substitute for principle.

Listeners walk away with a sharp libertarian critique, a host of unanswered questions, and an urgent reminder to question, always, the easy story told after a quick and flashy “success.”