President Trump’s decision to indict and capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro (and his wife Cilia Flores) and have the U.S. “run” the South American country is being met with outrage by most Democrats, many of whom say the military move was illegal (without Congressional approval) and a tactic to distract the American people from domestic topics including the remaining undisclosed Epstein Files and the soaring price of healthcare premiums.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hit those two subjects directly in her response to the capture of Maduro, writing that the Trump move is “about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.”
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote: “It’s an old and obvious pattern. An unpopular president – failing on the economy and losing his grip on power at home – decides to launch a war for regime change abroad. The American people don’t want to ‘run’ a foreign country while our leaders fail to improve life in this one.”
Trump’s former White House Communications Director from his first term turned loud critic of the President, financier Anthony Scaramucci, agrees that Venezuela represents a “drama” and thereby a distraction. But Scaramucci expects that the tariff reversals receiving scant attention in the shadow of the Venezuela action will be good for the economy.
Scaramucci wrote: “While the whole Venezuela drama is playing out the Trump Administration is reversing many of the tariffs. They are expecting to lose the Supreme Court case. The economy is going to rip.”
Trump won’t have to face a lot of TACO narrative, as he’ll be talking about Venezuela, but what Scaramucci sees as a dramatic pullback on tariffs will provide fuel to jumpstart an economy hindered by the trade war and its uncertainties. (Note: TACO is a snarky Wall Street play meaning “Trump Always Chickens Out.”)
While the whole Venezuela drama is playing out the Trump Administration is reversing many of the tariffs. They are expecting to lose the Supreme Court case. The economy is going to rip.
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) January 3, 2026
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that it has paused new tariff increases on upholstered furniture (to 30%) and cabinets/vanities (to 50%), delaying them to 2027. The increases were announced in September and took effect in October. The White House also reduced proposed tariffs on Italian pasta from 91% to 2-14%.
[NOTE: The reductions Scaramucci predicts will enable a “ripping” economy may already be partly baked into the current situation, as a new study by economists at Harvard and the University of Chicago asserts that the tariffs never actually rose in real terms to the level advertised by the President due to carve-outs, exemptions and various tariff avoidance schemes.]
While the Supreme Court weighs the legality of Trump’s tariffs, on Friday, hours before the capture of Maduro began dominating the media narrative, Trump wrote on social media: “Losing our ability to Tariff other countries who treat us unfairly would be a terrible blow to the United States of America.”
Yet Scaramucci predicts that Trump will soon “flood the zone with capital” because he wants to win the midterm elections. “He’s going to drop interest rates. He’s going to try to perk up the economy to get people to vote with his team come the midterm. People don’t know what’s coming.” Scaramucci added, “That bodes well for the stock market.”
"People Don't Know What's Coming"
— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDaily) December 31, 2025
The great Anthony @Scaramucci joins us to talk Bitcoin & Crypto in 2026, CLARITY Act, Top 3 Altcoins, & MORE!$SOL $AVAX $TON
Full Interview 👇
>>> https://t.co/7DgwvUV0iu pic.twitter.com/8AT8J4REfP
