# What does "we’re going to run the country" mean? Fucking media do your fucking job!?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 3, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320 "2026-01-03T21:53:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/21 "2026-01-04T03:43:57Z")
Meanwhile in the world that exists outside of Trump’s dementia fantasies, Maduro’s VP has been sworn in as acting president and doesn’t sound too keen on the idea of his goons “running” her country. [https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-supreme-court-orders-delcy-rodriguez-become-interim-president-2026-01-04/](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-supreme-court-orders-delcy-rodriguez-become-interim-president-2026-01-04/) [https://www.axios.com/2026/01/03/trump-maduro-venezuela-delcy-rodriguez](https://www.axios.com/2026/01/03/trump-maduro-venezuela-delcy-rodriguez) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/22 "2026-01-04T03:53:14Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Crayons are for losers. Colored pencils are for the daughter he doesn’t want to fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/23 "2026-01-04T03:58:36Z")
But only two of them. Children don’t deserve 37 pencils. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/24 "2026-01-04T04:36:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Meanwhile in the world that exists outside of Trump’s dementia fantasies, Maduro’s VP has been sworn in as acting president and doesn’t sound too keen on the idea of his goons “running” her country. I’m sure she isn’t, and I’m not sure Trump cares much. If she becomes too much of a nuisance, what’s to stop Trump from having her removed as well? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/25 "2026-01-04T04:48:58Z")
@griffin1977 What media is in place to do their job with this administration? The Pentagon only has a press pool which the Pentagon has approved. The gaggle at the White House has been pared down. There’s no press there to question them. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/26 "2026-01-04T05:08:14Z")
From a practical standpoint, he can’t just keep kidnapping presidents on phony charges forever, and I’ve seen no indication that he actually has any kind of plan for how to occupy and control a heavily forested and mountainous country of 30 million. If Roodriguez refuses to play ball, and it seems she won’t, then it’s going to take more than a few helicopters in order for him to “run” Venezwayler. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/27 "2026-01-04T13:36:22Z")
Could it turn into Vietnezuela? ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/28 "2026-01-04T15:39:00Z")
I keep wondering if Maduro will be ..”Shot while trying to escape” or like Epstein…..”He committed suicide” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/29 "2026-01-04T16:09:22Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Seriously US media WTF!??! You have a fucking job. Do it. Ask Trump and **every single** Trump admin official about this. It’s fucking important . How many American troops are we deploying to Venezuela to “run” it? What’s their mission? Where are they being deployed? If the answer is “none” what mechanism is the US “running” Venezuela. If they don’t know ask them to explain why this is not just the POTUS blatantly lying to the American people. I agree that those are crucial concerns, and things that the U.S. people have a right to know. However… …Trump wouldn’t answer that question if it was asked. …if Trump did answer, I wouldn’t believe him. …if, by some miracle, Trump answered and told the truth as he currently believes it, I wouldn’t expect the future to play out as Trump expects. From what I remember from a single journalism class in junior high, news stories start with the big picture, and fill in the details further along. I kinda feel like the questions in the OP are skipping to the details while the press is still trying to get the big picture stuff. Personally, I don’t think Trump, or anyone in his administration, has the first clue about what will happen in Venezuela. This is not someone who makes plans. He acts in the moment and expects the details to just work themselves out. It’s possible that Trump will send tens of thousands of troops to try to run Venezuela, and gets the U.S. involved in an epic foreign quagmire. It’s also possible that next week someone will ask Trump what his plans are to run Venezuela and he’ll answer “I never said that.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/30 "2026-01-04T17:28:17Z")
> [@sb1953](#): > > I keep wondering if Maduro will be ..”Shot while trying to escape” “Round up the usual suspects.” ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/31 "2026-01-04T19:26:56Z")
Newest update headline on all this, on CNN: “Trump threatens Venezuela’s acting president in new interview” ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/32 "2026-01-04T20:45:53Z")
It will probably work out the way Bush’s Iraq invasion did: fragmentation into a mess of warlord fiefdoms. There is a persistent wistful illusion that ‘democracy’ is in some way a ‘natural’ or ‘inevitable’ form of government. Short term thinking: that idea has only been around for a couple of centuries. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/33 "2026-01-04T22:04:10Z")
> In a telephone interview this morning, President Donald Trump issued a not-so-veiled threat against the new Venezuelan leader, Delcy Rodríguez, saying that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” referring to Nicolás Maduro, now residing in a New York City jail cell. Trump made clear that he would not stand for Rodríguez’s defiant rejection of the armed U.S. intervention that resulted in Maduro’s capture. He seems nice. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/34 "2026-01-04T22:39:45Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > From a practical standpoint, he can’t just keep kidnapping presidents on phony charges forever He doesn’t need to. Two or three times at most, each one a bit more forceful. > [@Smapti](#): > > If Roodriguez refuses to play ball, and it seems she won’t, then it’s going to take more than a few helicopters in order for him to “run” Venezwayler. To run the place? Sure. But it would only take a few helicopters to remove Rodriguez. To be clear, my position isn’t that this is in any way a well thought-out plan. It never is with these clowns. But they aren’t playing and they have the might of US Special Forces to use at their disposal. They certainly aren’t going to say, “well, we got the guy we wanted so she can run the country now.” They want the country’s oil and will do what it takes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/35 "2026-01-04T22:43:09Z")
To be honest, the funniest part is hearing Pete Hegseth trying to sound tough. Actual military officers manage to convey their message without the false bravado. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/36 "2026-01-04T23:20:34Z")
In a shocking turn of events, it turns out that Donald Trump might have been making shit up. > **[Mark Chadbourn (@chadbourn.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/chadbourn.bsky.social/post/3mbmpf3qtas2x)** > > Frantic backpedaling from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to AP: the US \*won’t\* govern Venezuela, but will press changes through an oil blockade. > > Already finding it harder than they imagined. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/37 "2026-01-04T23:25:57Z")
Thirty something years ago Colin Powell mentioned the Pottery Barn rule, about the difficulty of managing a country after invading it. Do we learn nothing from history? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/38 "2026-01-04T23:31:56Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > There is a persistent wistful illusion that ‘democracy’ is in some way a ‘natural’ or ‘inevitable’ form of government. Short term thinking: that idea has only been around for a couple of centuries. You’re correct. Democracy is difficult to achieve, and equally difficult to maintain. The only reason it exists is because people want it. It doesn’t exist because it’s natural. All government comes from the strong ruling the weak, and the “natural” form of that is via tyranny. You avoid tyranny by using democracy to bring together a coalition of people that is strong enough to keep power. Once that’s lost, tyranny is going to happen again. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/39 "2026-01-05T00:05:34Z")
I don’t think trump has the faintest idea what’s going on. He does whatever Stephen Miller tells him to do and Miller makes him think it’s his own idea. Then trump blathers to the press what he imagines is happening. . ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/40 "2026-01-05T00:12:37Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Meanwhile in the world that exists outside of Trump’s dementia fantasies, Maduro’s VP has been sworn in as acting president and doesn’t sound too keen on the idea of his goons “running” her country. Wait, what? I thought that everyone in Venezuela was overjoyed at Trump’s actions! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320.md?page=3)