On Wednesday's CNN This Morning, Democrat strategist Antjuan Seawright, commenting on President Trump's Venezuela operation and his comments about Greenland, said:  "I don't think this is the posture of someone who's planning to leave the White House in three years because he's been very aggressive about his foreign policy approach, and taking over countries." Aggressive foreign policy = determination to remain in power? Non sequitur much, Antjuan?  Logicians would classify Seawright's statement as a logical fallacy. And Seawright offered no evidence in support of his claim other than Trump's foreign policy. Seawright's accusation is more a reflection of how Trump has taken up permanent residency in liberal minds than anything connected to reality. As they approach the end of their time in office, presidents often take bold actions in hopes of building a legacy. A recent one even despoiled a public park to erect a hideous monument to himself! True, Trump has in the past teased the possibility of staying on, but his most recent statements are quite definitive in ruling out any such notion, as reported in this CNN article: “I would say that if you read it, [the Constitution] it’s pretty clear, I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad. But we have a lot of great people.” Trump continues to demonstrate impressive vitality, the latest example being his rapid-fire give-and-take in his press conference after the Maduro extraction. Even so, my two cents say that it's unlikely that an 82-year-old Trump would be in a position to consider another run in 2028—even if he wanted to. Note: Host Audie Cornish had assembled an all-anti-Trump Group Chat. In addition to Seawright, there was Never Trumper Charlie Dent, and Garrett Graff, who we recently caught analogizing ICE to the Gestapo! Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 1/7/26 6:05 am ET AUDIE CORNISH: So, with this war powers vote, I mean, you guys help me, you're my congressional people. Is this for show? Is this so lawmakers can kind of get up and register dismay but not actually stop the White House?  ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT: Well, you can't undo the action. And this president has simply ignored the congressional powers throughout the second term of the presidency.  But I will tell you, drill, baby, drill was certainly a loud part of the Trump platform as a candidate when he ran for reelection. So no one should be surprised -- CORNISH: People thought he'd been Alaska but -- SEAWRIGHT: Sure, yeah, but also people did not expect him to be so aggressive and everything he's done and certainly ignore the rule of law which he has consistently done. But I will also say,this idea that some in the conservative world believe this was about drugs is just silly and foolishness, considering that Mexico, and what they do with fentanyl, and the fact that he was able to, that he pardoned the former Honduran leader. I think this is very consistent with Trump being Trump, and this is all about Trump.  And I will finally add, I don't think this is the posture of someone who's planning to leave the White House in three years, because he's been very aggressive about his foreign policy approach and taking over countries. I think that's very unprecedented.  . . .  CORNISH: So there's a lot of people who say, like, look, they're not going to go to the mat for Maduro, right? Like, that's just not a hill they want to die on. 

Many popular movies make a constructive point: If you work hard enough and push through tough times, you can achieve your dreams. In “The Pursuit of Happyness,” a struggling father tells his son, “Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do something.” The movie is a true story about a man who overcomes homelessness and gets his dream job. In “Rocky Balboa,” Rocky says, “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” These are good messages. They fit my libertarian philosophy. We libertarians believe people try harder and do best when individuals are free to pursue their own dreams. In my new video, I interview libertarian Timothy Sandefur, author of the new book, “You Don’t Own Me.” He says, “The title comes from the famous song by Leslie Gore, saying, I’m in charge of my own desires, dreams. I’m responsible for my own self.” “That’s kind of obvious.” I point out. “It should be,” he replies. “Unfortunately, a lot of people ignore this and say, you’re responsible for other people, or other people must be responsible for you.” He gives examples from Hollywood. “The original ‘Wizard of Oz’ movie is this optimistic, joyful film about somebody who always had the strength within her to accomplish her dreams.” But the recent “Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked,” focuses on the Wicked Witch, who is a victim because she’s green. Her dream isn’t to do anything; it’s for others to accept her. “Very different from a film in which the character wants to accomplish something,” says Sandefur. She rejects the wizard’s offer of a seat by his side, instead asking him to help society. Sandefur says the message is, “We should not pursue our own dreams. Instead, curtail our own behavior for the benefit of society.” Likewise, in the latest “Wonder Woman” sequel, the villain grants individuals’ wishes, but that threatens the world. So Wonder Woman tells everyone to give up their wishes. That saves the day. As Sandefur puts it: “We should not want things, not desire or dream things, and that will save the world.” The flop “Strange World” is a kid’s movie about a society that relies on a power source called Pando. Leftist scriptwriters, selling climate hysteria, have the hero say: “If we want to survive, Pando has to go.” The good guys happily destroy their main source of energy. Sandefur mocks the stupidity, “Living without today’s energy technology doesn’t just mean doing without warm coffee. It means doing without ambulances when you have a heart attack, doing without an airplane to carry people’s organ transplants. Doing without today’s energy technology would be a colossal disaster for the human race. Yet the movie kind of ridicules that concern.” When woke movies fail, Hollywood often blames the audience. After remaking “Charlie’s Angels,” director Elizabeth Banks said, if this movie doesn’t make money, it’s because “men don’t go see women do action movies.” But that’s just dumb. Didn’t Banks notice that men helped make the original “Charlie’s Angels” TV series a hit? Did she not notice “Kill Bill,” “Aliens,” “Tomb Raider,” “Resident Evil” — lots of successful action movies feature female leads. “The reality,” says Sandefur, “is that people are not interested in another lame remake that satisfies all the politically correct tests.” “Films that are individualistic,” he adds, “tend to be very successful.” But “Hollywood wants to propagandize to us about the evils of individualism.” To Sandefur, the best message is: “My life is mine. I don’t exist to make other people happy.” “Sounds selfish,” I say. “It is, but it’s also true that I might want to spend my life helping other people that I love, my wife and my kids. When it comes down to it, my life belongs to me.” Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Government Gone Wild: Exposing the Truth Behind the Headlines.”

The Trump Administration’s shockingly successful removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro (captured and flown out of Caracas on Saturday morning to face trial for drug trafficking in New York City) was greeted with sulky attitudes in a mainstream press unwilling to credit Trump for a move that may well drastically improve the lives of millions of Venezuelans. The New York Times has been particularly petulant on Trump's bold military maneuver. Roca News rounded up headlines from New York Times op-eds and Letters to the Editor and found an almost exclusively negative trend (links and bylines provided by NewsBusters). Here's a sampling: “Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise,” by the paper’s Editorial Board. “To Trump, on Venezuela: You Break It, You Own It,” by opinion columnist Thomas Friedman. “Maduro’s Ouster Plays Right Into Putin’s Hands,” by opinion columnist M. Gessen. “This Isn’t Regime Change. It’s Extortion,” by opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg. “Trump Is Unleashing Forces Beyond His Control,” by opinion columnist David French. “The Danger of Trump’s Flamboyant Violence,” by Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer Mr. Sullivan is a former national security adviser. Mr. Finer is a former principal deputy national security adviser. “Who Wins From Trump’s Venezuela Oil Gambit? Not Regular Americans,” guest essay by economist Rebecca Patterson. “‘Arrogant, Dangerous and Illegal’: Trump’s Motives for the Attack on Venezuela,” headline over the Letters to the Editor section. And NewsBusters found the paper’s news stories to be almost as bad. A sampling: Tuesday lead story: “Maduro, Appearing in U.S. Court for Arraignment, Says He Was ‘Kidnapped’ and Pleads Not Guilty.” Tuesday front-page story: “Trump’s Goals for Reviving Venezuela’s Oil Industry Will Not Come Easily or Cheaply.” Page A8 Tuesday: "Venezuela’s Legislators Offer Scorn as Trump Demands Obedience." Wednesday lead story: “Trump’s Foray Into Venezuela Could Embolden Russia’s and China’s Own Aggression.”   Wednesday front-page story: “After Maduro’s Ouster, Marco Rubio Faces the Challenge of Running Venezuela.” A story posted Wednesday, perhaps bound for Thursday’s edition: “Maduro Is Gone, but Repression in Venezuela Has Intensified.” There were a few scattered positive or more neutral headlines, such as “Returning Home No Longer Seems Out of Reach for Venezuelans in Florida” and “South Florida Is at Its Peak Political Influence After Maduro’s Capture,” both by Patricia Mazzei reporting from Florida.

“I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed, if necessary," Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz threatened Wednesday, denouncing the federal government’s efforts to enforce U.S. immigration law in his state. Gov. Walz made the threats during a press conference following the death of a Minnesota anti-immigration enforcement protester who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent as she, according to video of the incident, drove her vehicle into the agent. “[O]fficers tugged at the driver's side door handle and the woman began driving toward an ICE agent standing in front of her SUV,” according to a Fox News report: “The SUV appeared to have hit the ICE agent as he fired multiple shots into the front of the vehicle. “The agent was then seen limping toward the woman's SUV, which sped off and crashed into cars parked on the side of the street.” While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that the driver attempted to “weaponized her vehicle” in an act of “domestic terrorism,” Gov. Walz demonized and denounced the federal government’s immigration enforcement in his state. "I have a very simple message: We do not need any further help from the federal government,” Gov. Walz said: "To (President) Donald Trump and (DHS Secretary) Kristi Noem: You've done enough." "I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed, if necessary," Gov. Walz threatened. “These National Guard troops are our National Guard troops,” Walz added, in apparent defiance of the authority of the federal government to enforce federal law in his state. DEM GOV. TIM WALZ: "I have a very simple message: We do not need any further help from the federal government." "To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You've done enough." "I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared… pic.twitter.com/zWpwQIERuF — Fox News (@FoxNews) January 7, 2026  

Late Wednesday morning, the  U.S. military’s actions in Venezuela became old news and no longer the top national news story following a deadly, Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis. The broadcast networks largely went wall-to-wall on their free, 24-hour streaming channels and, in some cases, the scorching hot takes were almost immediate. ABC News Live weekday afternoon host Kyra Phillips touted far-left Mayor Jacob Frey’s (D) deranged, profanity-laced lecture, calling it “powerful words...after ICE agents killed a woman” who was “unarmed”: ABC’s Kyra Phillips on the ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis: “‘Creating hope, love, and justice.’ But the mayor of Minneapolis, making it very clear with his message to ICE: ‘get the f- out of Minneapolis.’ Powerful words after we watched these live pictures right there on… pic.twitter.com/bKcw7qtp5g — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   Phillips was recapping the comments made at the press conference, but it wasn’t prudent to simply parroting the police chief’s claim that the woman was “unarmed” when most reasonable people would point out a vehicle can be used as a deadly weapon. Thankfully, ABC News contributor and former longtime NYPD official Robert Boyce respectfully fact-checked her: ABC News contributor Robert Boyce on the ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis: “A car is a deadly, deadly instrument of against an officer, so that's what we're looking at right now.” “[Y]ou see an officer being brushed to the side by the car and then again, it's unauthorized. I… pic.twitter.com/kxpVFVYRg5 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   Fellow ABC News contributor Elizabeth Neumann — who served in the first Trump administration before becoming a Never Trump, Principles First-style Democrat — recklessly speculated this officer likely had no clue what he was doing when he shot the woman dead (click “expand” to read her full comments): Former Trump DHS official-turned-Democrat and liberal Christian implies on ABC News Live the ICE-involved deadly shooting happened today because “it was only a matter of time” someone from this “provocative” administration’s ICE did something like this She argues ICE officers… pic.twitter.com/uGdeJhYEyE — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   [W]e do need to wait for more of the facts to become evident, but it is really alarming as an American to see such a discrepancy between the story that DHS is telling and what the mayor is saying. But maybe taking a step back. Part of what we heard, that police chief note is that this — this is what they have been warning about, that it's only a matter of time when you have two things happening. One, a very provocative approach to ICE that, look, ICE is codified under law. The idea that we need to do immigration enforcement has been on the books for a long, long time. But the way that this administration is doing it is extremely provocative and increases the chance that you're going to have protesters, right? So, you're — you're being provocative to local communities and creating the moment where tragedy can occur. But the second thing that I think we're — we're not focused on enough is the fact that ICE had their budget triple under the Big Beautiful Bill that was passed last summer. Triple! It is unprecedented for any agency to triple their budget and be able to handle that amount of money. Well, what they have done is hire a number of new agents. In fact, just a few days ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced that they had increased the ICE numbers by 120 percent, so they more than doubled their workforce. There really is no way in any management book to double your workforce and to do so well. So, what that likely means is they've hired a number of people that, under normal circumstances, would not have passed vetting, and they put them through rapid training. And now you have people that are not ready to be managers, elevated to be managers, and a whole system that is really underprepared for complex situations like this. Like, what do you do when you have protesters who are angry with you? And any time you put underprepared officers in situations like this, it is likely that tragedy is going to occur. So, I think that the tragedy is not just this moment, but the fact that we have way too many undertrained ice officers being put in, yes, dangerous positions for them, but also for the public. This needs to de-escalate. ICE needs to take a step back and re — redesign the way that they’re pushing immigration enforcement, so we don’t see any further loss of life. As he did with Phillips, Boyce chimed in and respectfully called out these charged comments, reminding viewers we “don’t know all the facts,” such as “how long this officer has been in service” or what his “training” was or “prior” service. Thus, he argued, “it’s difficult to...make this pretty broad” and “premature statement” and any deadly physical force training in law enforcement requires a 100 percent passage. “The rancor I see between the politics here can only add to that. So, I wish the mayor and he was both calming and inflaming at the same time. Really, really have to walk this back a little bit and speak — and speak clearly on and understand what's going on here,” he added. Neumann responded by insisting she wasn’t impugning the officer before learning their background, but then promptly did just that in smearing them as likely trigger-happy and untrained: WATCH: Former Trump DHS official-turned-Never Trumper Elizabeth Neumann admits she has no idea who the office in the ICE shooting is or what his training is, but argues anyway he probably had no clue what he was doing... “We don't know who the officer is. That shot, the shot. We… pic.twitter.com/n8Fb9Ke6kP — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   Boyce kept his composure following Neumann’s doubling down (click “expand”): These are difficult situations that happen in an instant and also driven by impulse, rather by planning and that's what I think this is right here. Someone — someone's giving you verbal commands, someone in a uniform and you're — you're not obeying them. And so, you hit the gas on your car...[U]ntil you find out exactly, — these things, you can train. You try to isolate a car. She's blocking an incident, which is what the chief said...She was blocking ICE  actions, which is against the law — it’s OGA — an obstructing governmental information — administration, excuse me. And then you look at this instantaneous thing where all of a sudden officers being charged over the car and it's really case-by-case. Can that officer safely get out of the way? Because they're going to arrest that person down the line. Unfortunately, there’s no issue about that. But also could — or could that officer not? The — the video I saw — the officer was brushed against. I don't know if he's the shooter or not. I don't and it seems to be a single shooter. Neumann came back around shortly after 2:30 p.m. Eastern and predictably cautioned viewers to not trust anything coming from the administration: ABC News contributor and Never Trumper Elizabeth Neumann suggests we shouldn’t have any reason to believe DHS and ICE, who have said the officer in the deadly ICE-involved shooting acted in self-defense.... “The problem that we have in the moment with this administration is that… pic.twitter.com/phgT43wPqm — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   Yet again, Boyce gave a rebuttal as someone who’s “investigated several hundred of shooting incidents in the NYPD,” stating “you really have to take a hard look at these things and blot out all that noise” and “make two decisions: Is the officer within guidelines of their actions? Do they take legal and reasonable, reasonable accommodation to protect themselves? Secondly, were the tactics appropriate or were they...missing there?” Neumann couldn’t stop digging as she heard this and discounted the chance there will be an serious investigation because “this administration...see[s] the provocative approach” and “anti-migrant language” as more appealing than the rule of law. “It is like part of their playbook to make the United States feel very uncomfortable for not just people who are undocumented, but for lawful legal immigrants,” the severe Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) patient added. Over at NBC, they had an extended network Special Report spanning much of the afternoon. Early on, NBC Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainsley blamed the shooting on — without naming him — Nick Shirley: NBC’s Julia Ainsley at 130pm Eastern on the deadly ICE-involved shooting: “But there was a right wing YouTube video that alleged fraud at daycare centers that came out just after the holidays. And that was the reason, as it was explained to me by senior DHS officials, for this… pic.twitter.com/h7fbn7fJOL — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   At almost the exact same time, CBS correspondent Nicole Sganga was cautiously describing the scene in Minneapolis on CBS News 24/7 when she suddenly stop because an elderly, white, liberal Boomer started yelling at her: CBS's Nicole Sganga had to bail on her Minneapolis liveshot just before 115pm Eastern because an AWFUL Boomer starts heckling her about ICE "murdering" the woman and ICE was never "threatened" pic.twitter.com/bOGdJm7DQ2 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   Fast-forwarding to the 3:00 p.m. Eastern, producer Anna Schecter appealed for calm and reminding viewers about what was known, unknown, and some basics on what is and is not covered under First Amendment activities: See, this is what we need in this tense moment -- just after 3pm Eastern, CBS News senior coordinating producer for crime and public safety Anna Schecter gave a calm play-by-play of the videos of the deadly ICE-involved shooting She noted at one point that “there's a lot of… pic.twitter.com/NStaeouzWi — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026 CBS News producer Anna Schecter on the importance of following the commands of law enforcement: “Listen, in a situation like this, you always look and you say, ‘well, the agents could have stepped away from the vehicle and let her go,’ but we don't know why. But the agents… pic.twitter.com/bsYUL3B2UT — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026   NBC News law enforcement analyst Jim Cavanaugh — whom we’ve called on here before — was much more like Schecter when he surfaced to give his insights: This was back from just after 230pm Eastern, but this is really good from NBC News law enforcement analyst Jim Cavanaugh... “Well, we're seeing a person who was, you know, being stopped in the street, her vehicles across the street, and ICE agents are trying to talk to her.… pic.twitter.com/BHxBRoJqca — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 7, 2026