Jasmine Crockett calls Trump the 'Maduro of the United States'

2024 DNC: Jasmine Crockett calls Trump a 'vindictive, vile, villain'

Rep. Jasmine Crockett speaks on stage at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

NEW YORK, Calif. - Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett criticized President Donald Trump during a television appearance Monday, comparing his actions to those of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro following a dramatic U.S. military operation.

Crockett’s comments came as Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought to New York to face federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation. The couple was captured Saturday during "Operation Absolute Resolve," a covert overnight mission in Venezuela.

Comparisons to Maduro

What they're saying:

Speaking on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and during an appearance on "The View," Crockett, a frequent critic of Trump, suggested the president’s past challenges to election results mirrored the tactics of the Venezuelan strongman.

"I do want to be clear, somebody else was trying to be a Maduro of the United States," Crockett said. "Somebody else wanted to do the exact same thing. The difference is Maduro was successful. I also want to point out that we now in the state of Texas and around this country are enduring this ridiculous redistricting scheme. Again, because [Trump] doesn’t really believe in free and fair elections."

US-Venezuela: After Maduro's capture Colombia sends strong message to Trump

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday he would "take up arms" against the U.S. if it attacks his country, following U.S. military action in Venezuela and the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.

Crockett, who announced late last year that she is seeking the 2026 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Texas, argued that the administration’s interest in Venezuela is not about the people.

"This ain’t about Venezuelans. I get that there are people that don’t like the leader. But guess what, there are a lot of people that don’t like our leader," she said. "And, and regardless, somebody coming into the United States and grabbing our leader in the middle of the night and killing people in this country, I’m sure everybody would be outraged at them doing it that way."

Questions of legality

Dig deeper:

The congresswoman joined a chorus of Democratic leaders questioning the legality of the mission, arguing that the administration bypassed necessary congressional oversight.

"The biggest problem that I have is that it was illegal. Everything that this administration does is illegal," she said. "So if you have what you needed, which he truly believes that, I guess, then you just would have went to Congress and gotten us involved, but instead, we’re hearing leaks and reports he talked to oil folk, but he didn’t talk to Congress."

The capture followed months of planning and a series of U.S. military strikes since September targeting what the administration described as drug-running vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

The administration’s defense

The other side:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed claims that the administration overstepped its bounds.

"This was not an action that required congressional approval," Rubio said. "In fact, it couldn’t require congressional approval because this was not an invasion. This is not an extended military operation. This is a very precise operation that involved a couple of hours of action. It was a very delicate operation, too. It was one that required all these conditions to be in place at the right time, in the right place."

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

The Source: Informaion for this story comes from Rep. Jasmine Crockett's appearance Tuesday on "The View."

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