# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/81 "2026-01-05T20:42:52Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > Do you think Trump would care if some American lives were being threatened? > > No but the American media would. Interviews with the crying wife and children of Jimbob from Tallahassee currently in prison in Venezuela, would absolutely hurt Trump’s agenda. I don’t trust the American media to report on Trump. But they sure as hell can report the bejesus out of a “Innocent American imprisoned abroad” story Yes, this. It won’t happen on CNN. MSNOW personnel might argue for doing it, but whether they’d have the courage to actually do it is questionable. > [@griffin1977](#): > > Be sure to make them do the same perp walk, with the same restraints as Maduro. It would be more damaging to trump than all the condemnations by world leaders and Democrats combined. It WOULD be more damaging to Trump----if any Americans became aware that it had happened. Again, the major media outlets would likely refrain from showing anything like that. They prefer to show things that won’t put a White House bullseye on them. CNN will always devote every on-air minute to ‘people speculating about where Maduro is likely sleeping inside the MDC’ rather than showing something like Venezuelans perp-walking Americans to mirror what happened to Maduro. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/82 "2026-01-05T20:50:16Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > My apologies if you were offended. My offense meter is constantly being recalibrated as my government keeps finding new ways to be offensive, no apologies are needed, unless you are employed by Trump, in which case no apologies would be enough. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/83 "2026-01-05T20:53:33Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > the major media outlets would likely refrain from showing anything like that They absolutely would. Again I don’t trust the media to hold Trump to any kind of accountability. But a nice blond blue eyed all american boy (or even maybe a young pretty white woman, I’m sure it’s not just men that work for Chevron) being perp walked down a corridor in the basement of a Venezuelan prison. It would be on every US News channel all day. Gauranteed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/84 "2026-01-05T20:53:34Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > No but the American media would. Interviews with the crying wife and children of Jimbob from Tallahassee currently in prison in Venezuela, would absolutely hurt Trump’s agenda. I don’t trust the American media to report on Trump. But they sure as hell can report the bejesus out of a “Innocent American imprisoned abroad” story “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” Donald Trump, 23 January 2016 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/85 "2026-01-05T21:12:52Z")
They could send the blonde girl to El Salvador. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/86 "2026-01-05T21:27:54Z")
[![](https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSHGWSgZKz8XEY8gfqfjdVJrt6oOlCUZIaugnS056HGVc1TfD85) ](https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSHGWSgZKz8XEY8gfqfjdVJrt6oOlCUZIaugnS056HGVc1TfD85) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/87 "2026-01-05T21:34:24Z")
But bringing it back to the OP did anyone see a single question asked to a Trump official about potential repercussions? Was Chevron warned and given a chance to withdraw US personnel ? These are all questions you would expect a functioning free press to ask in the aftermath of something like this FFS. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/88 "2026-01-05T21:39:16Z")
A second hand account [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP1--doKqME). Ward Carroll interviewed a Mexican Air Force officer who spoke with some Venezuelans. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/89 "2026-01-05T21:59:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A second hand account [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP1--doKqME). Not directly related to OP but I don’t consider YouTube to be mass media. Possibly that’s just me being old and curmudgeonly 😉 Though I don’t think any one YouTube channel has close the viewing figure of the big cable news shows yet? And if it does it’s probably some arsehole like Joe Rogan who makes regular TV news journalists look like daring and principled upholders of the public good in comparison ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/90 "2026-01-05T23:06:23Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Was Chevron warned and given a chance to withdraw US personnel ? Apparently, yes, the oil companies (including Chevron) were given a heads-up about the US military coming onto Venezuelan soil. Something NOT done for Congress: > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has confirmed he spoke with oil companies “before and after” the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. > > Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he had spoken to “all” of the oil firms before the raid took place… > **[Donald Trump says he spoke to oil companies before Venezuela action](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-oil-companies-venezuela-action-11307459)** > > "They want to go in so badly," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/91 "2026-01-05T23:17:36Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Nobody is going to spend the tens of billions it would take to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and process their super-heavy tar sands when they can get it from North Dakota at a fraction of the cost, and even if they tried it would take decades before they saw a profit on it, The bigger game is that, even if barely break-even operation, this would ensure that Venezuelan crude is continued to be traded exclusively in USD. And were that to change, that is close to an existential threat to the US way of life. You recall what happened last time somebody tried to sell their oil in Euros? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/92 "2026-01-05T23:23:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Trump said he had spoken to “all” of the oil firms before the raid took place And why about the innumerable follow up questions that inevitably come to mind from that? Did Chevron warn their Venezuelan employees to leave town before the raid? Did that jeopardize the mission? Did all the US companies with employees in Venezuela have that privilege? If not what other precautions were taken? Did anyone trade on the futures market based on that data? Was a single follow up question asked? FFS ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/93 "2026-01-05T23:27:05Z")
Yes to all that. Kind of puts into perspective Donald’s claim that he couldn’t inform Congress (according to existing law) because there might be “leaks.” Not that we know for sure there were leaks from the oil people, but it stand to reason that some of the possibilities you mention did occur—and they are all leak-related. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/94 "2026-01-06T00:53:20Z")
I’m not hearing many sources talking about the theory that Maduro was given up by members of his inner circle. Which is strange, because it would make sense of a lot of what’s happened: How quickly and effectively Maduro was seized. Why the Trump admin has been quick to reject the idea of Machado being interim leader, and not much mention of the possibility of elections in fact. And why they have instead kept the regime exactly as it was – even though it contains cronies that have US and international arrest warrants more significant than what Maduro is going down for. Heck, when Rubio was asked about said cronies, he deflected hard, and wouldn’t say a single negative thing about 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 6, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/95 "2026-01-06T01:08:53Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I’m not hearing many sources talking about the theory that Maduro was given up by members of his inner circle. Considering that 30+ of his bodyguards were killed in a firefight and the acting president is demanding his release, it doesn’t seem likely. > [@Mijin](#): > > Why the Trump admin has been quick to reject the idea of Machado being interim leader, and not much mention of the possibility of elections in fac Trump’s senile blather notwithstanding, the US isn’t “running” Venezuela. Presidential succession and the timetable for elections aren’t up to him to decide. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/96 "2026-01-06T01:14:26Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Presidential succession and the timetable for elections aren’t up to him to decide. With enough troops (or threats), Trump can certainly change the course of Venezuela’s history. ---
**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 6, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/97 "2026-01-06T01:40:30Z")
Actually dedicating troops to occupying Venezuela isn’t Trump’s style. He’s _extremely_ averse to the idea of US casualties to the point that when multiple soldiers in Iraq suffered concussions after an Iranian strike, he dismissed it as “some people got a headache”. He prefers to do one quick strike and the proclaim that he’s solved the problem once and for all, circumstances on the ground be damned. ---
**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 6, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/98 "2026-01-06T01:54:22Z")
> This exposes a construct from which mainstream journalists have struggled to shake loose since Trump’s first term: If the president says something, then it’s assumed true. After all his criminal convictions, civil penalties, an attempt to overthrow the government and a life-long track record of lies and fraud, because he was able to recapture the presidency, the tendency remains to paint him in the positive light possible. For some journalists and news organizations, leaning on that assumption helps create order during a chaotic situation. (It’s not that other presidents never lied to drum up support for war; they all did to varying extents, though typically made clear after the fact.) From a journalist’s perspective, however, it’s much more challenging to figure out how to cover a president who you know is actively lying to you. But it’s a challenge we reject at our own peril. > **[Call Trump's power grab in Venezuela what it is](https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/trump-venezuela-power-grab-corporate-media-coverage)** > > Corporate media must recognize they're being openly lied to—and report accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/99 "2026-01-06T02:42:02Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Considering that 30+ of his bodyguards were killed in a firefight and the acting president is demanding his release, it doesn’t seem likely. I also demand the release of Maduro. He’s the mother of my baby! Or, that is to say, words is cheap. Maduro’s VP could have easily turned him in to the US, seeing an easy path to rulership. Following that, she just needs to stay seemingly-loyal for long enough that she can sniff out anyone who survived the attack that would prefer Maduro over her. If we see a purge in the coming weeks and Delcy Rodriguez working to set up towers along the border to shoot anyone who’s trying to escape the country to the USA, then that’s probably our traitor. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-we-re-going-to-run-the-country-mean-fucking-media-do-your-fucking-job/1026320/100 "2026-01-06T02:42:07Z")
Why should the media be held responsible? They have reported that Trump has committed crimes. The media cannot remove Trump from office. It’s the Republican majority in Congress that isn’t doing its job. [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=4) [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=6)