Trump supporters interviewed across five states by The Associated Press said they generally approved of the U.S. military’s seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but their response was more measured than President Donald Trump’s claim that voters were uniformly “thrilled.” Trump said those who “voted for me are thrilled. They said, ‘This is what we voted for.’” The voters AP journalists interviewed in the days after the raid — conducted without congressional authorization — described a more conditional reaction.
The qualified support tests Trump’s “America First” campaign premise against new foreign military entanglements, while adding another pressure point to a MAGA coalition already navigating tensions over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the expiration of health insurance subsidies.
“I am thrilled,” said Aaron Tobin, an active member of the Oakland County Republican Party in Oak Park, Michigan, who predicted the operation would be the subject of movies for years. “I support him so far,” said Paul Bonner, 67, who was browsing at a Trump merchandise store in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. “Until he messes up, I support him.”
Reservations about entanglement
The most direct doubts came from younger voters. Chase Lewis, 24, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, said the operation caught him off guard and he was still uncertain whether he supported it. “I don’t want my friends that are serving right now to be dragged into a war because we went and stuck our nose in Venezuela’s business,” Lewis said. He noted that Trump had campaigned against starting new wars. “Depending on how you look at it,” he said, “this was an act of war.”
Lewis, an electrician apprentice, said he wanted the Trump administration focused on reducing costs for young Americans and improving conditions for veterans — not new military commitments abroad.
Patrick McCans, 66, a retired engineer from Castle Rock, Colorado, called Trump’s move “a little contrary to what he campaigned on” — though after a moment’s pause he added that “in this case it might have been warranted.”
Kevin Carey, 62, a retired firefighter from Bensalem, Pennsylvania, put it plainly: “I wouldn’t say thrilled but I’m cautiously optimistic.” Carey said he recalled the 1979 seizure of U.S. hostages in Iran as a warning about how conflicts can escalate, but added that he trusted Trump to take precautions.
Support for the operation’s speed and outcome
Others were less reserved. Travis Garcia, 45, a contractor from Castle Rock, said: “Of course I’m going to be happy that they captured a dictator that’s constantly sending drugs our way. If we’re not gonna do it, who’s gonna do it?” Garcia said the operation reinforced Trump’s image as “a powerful man who follows through on his word.”
Mary Lussier, 48, a flight attendant from Larkspur, Colorado, recalled watching videos of Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s removal and said fewer bad leaders “would make the world a little bit lesser of a bad place.” She said she would be open to further operations of the same kind, though she would not want U.S. forces committed to a prolonged conflict. Her admiration, she said, hinged heavily on the operation’s efficiency.
Mark Edward Miller, 75, a retired Air Force aircraft maintenance specialist from Mooresville, Indiana, expressed full support and said the only thing that surprised him was that no advance word leaked. “I believe that he’s doing exactly what our country should be doing — supporting, especially in our hemisphere, governments that are friendly with us,” Miller said.
Tobin: Cuba and Iran are watching
Tobin, the Michigan supporter who envisions a cinematic future for the raid, said he wants additional operations modeled on this one. “Especially if they were as successful as this last one where we didn’t lose any troops, we didn’t lose any planes or ships,” he said. He added: “Cuba’s very nervous right now.”
What comes next
Trump has made remarks suggesting the U.S. would “run” Venezuela going forward. Ron Soto, 88, a retired tractor-trailer driver who visits the Golden Dawn Diner in Levittown, Pennsylvania, said he believed Trump would “straighten that country out and make it into a democracy if he can. I don’t know if he can.”
The Colorado Trump supporters AP interviewed all praised the operation’s speed and execution but said their support could waver if the U.S. were drawn into a longer conflict — a scenario none said they would back. Few mentioned Trump’s stated intentions regarding Venezuela’s oil resources, though several said Maduro’s removal could slow drug trafficking and immigration to the United States.