Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that the Trump administration’s military strike on a Venezuelan boat was another example of the president “breaking laws.”
Host Kristen Welker said, “I want to start off on some big news this week. President Trump launched a strike against a Venezuelan boat he alleges was carrying a large amount of drugs. Here is the video he posted. Overnight, the vice president dismissed those who called it a war crime. Senator Rand Paul said, ‘What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.’ Senator, do you think that the president has the authority to unilaterally strike a boat carrying alleged drug smugglers?”
Booker said, “No, he doesn’t. It is a massive expansion of presidential authority against the rules that abide by the use of military force and it’s another example of Donald Trump breaking laws within the United States giving no justification for his action. All that we’ve heard so far is he might be relying on the 9/11 authorization for the use of military force. That is outrageous and folks need to understand, as the president continues to expand his authority in a way that is very authoritarian that we all should be concerned. The rule of law matters, and the form of government we have mandates a president will work within those bounds and does not just take those kinds of actions unilaterally.”
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