No plan for Venezuela [View all]
Jan 7, 2026
David Frum Show
On this weeks episode of The David Frum Show, The Atlantics David Frum discusses the American seizure of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trumps deeply flawed thinking about Venezuelan oil. David argues that Trumps worldview of exploitation and predation is likely to doom his ambitions in Venezuela rather than secure them.
David is then joined by the national-security analyst David Rothkopf to examine the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the Trump administrations alarming lack of a coherent plan for what comes next. Rothkopf explores what it means for a president to sideline or altogether ignore the National Security Council before launching a major military action. Together, Rothkopf and Frum speculate about possible outcomes of the Maduro operation that Trump appears not to have considered.
Finally, David closes with his thoughts on Rudyard Kiplings Recessional and the poems warning about national boasting, overreach, and the perils of collective foolishness.