Democratic Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, argued that while President Trump and MAGA may enjoy killing alleged terrorists and drug smugglers without much oversight, they might come to regret endorsing that power.
The congressman was referencing a series of 14 military strikes on narco-terrorist vessels coming from Latin America. He offered a hypothetical scenario in which Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive from New York, became president and claimed the same authority.
Speaking on MSNBC’s "Chris Jansing Reports," he began by answering a question on whether the United States' military vessels in the Caribbean should be diverted to humanitarian missions to help those affected by Hurricane Melissa.
"Yeah, Chris, I do. You know, it’s a long tradition of the United States — and the United States military — helping devastated areas. Of course, you know, the purported reason why the military is there, which is apparently to interdict drugs and to undertake these lethal attacks that we have been doing, that’s illegal. Those are illegal strikes. They have not been authorized by the Congress."
Chris Jansing noted that taking drugs off the streets is a popular position in America. He played a clip from Senator Lindsey Graham, who argued that not only does Trump have the authority to authorize and conduct the recent strikes, but that "I think most Americans are going to be with Trump."
"If Lindsey Graham and other Republicans want to go the route of saying ‘It’s okay to kill people illegally, just so long as the American public supports it,’ the American public needs to really think that through," Himes said. "There will be a Democratic president someday. And all my MAGA friends cheering on these illegal killings need to imagine who gets killed when President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says it doesn’t matter what the law says, she’s going to do what she’s going to do."
"So look, I work here. I understand the complete abnegation of principle and the complete thumbing of the nose at the rule of law. But I’d hope people like Lindsey Graham might not go that path, because it’s a very, very dangerous path for this country to go down," he continued.
The White House responded to the comment, telling Fox News Digital:
It’s shameful that Democrats are running cover for evil narcoterrorists trying to poison our homeland as over 100,000 Americans die from overdoses every year. The President acted in line with the laws of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring poison to our shores, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans.
The art of American governance lies in balancing policies that are both effective and constitutional, while guarding against potential abuses of power. I, for one, would be uneasy with Representative Ocasio-Cortez defining such authority or overseeing military action if she were to become president.
Beyond questions of legality, President Trump’s approach has delivered undeniable results. Critics from both parties may debate the methods, but the Trump administration’s steadfast commitment shows a leader focused on results, willing to take bold action to protect Americans and confront threats head-on.