As the war in Ukraine rages on, former President Donald Trump and the MAGA right have presented their opposition to continued aid to Ukraine as a position grounded in antiwar principles. Trump’s inner circle is reportedly going so far as to push the narrative that Trump is the “peace president” in the 2024 White House race. Yet at the same time, right-wing nationalists are displaying an increasing appetite for launching a new war altogether — in Mexico.
It’s a bizarre, disconcerting development, and a reminder that right-wing nationalists’ aversion to backing Ukraine isn’t based on a commitment to minimizing the harm caused by war. It is in reality a reluctance to use force that doesn’t more narrowly advance perceived U.S. interests.
Let’s be clear: It is not a good idea to send missiles or troops into Mexico to deal with the fentanyl problem. It is a violation of national sovereignty.
In recent weeks, Republicans’ belligerent rhetoric on dealing with Mexican drug cartels and their exporting of fentanyl into the U.S. has intensified in striking ways. Last week, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a former biotech executive, declared that he would use “military force to decimate the cartels, Osama bin Laden-style” if he became president; on Thursday, he tweeted a five-minute FAQ-style video making the case for such an operation. It was a clear bid to ride the wave of an idea that’s been surfacing more and more in right-wing circles.
On Tuesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said on “Fox and Friends” that it was a “mistake” that Trump didn’t bomb fentanyl labs in Mexico during his presidency. He was referring to the allegation from Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper in his memoir that Trump had inquired about the possibility of sending missiles into Mexico to wipe out the cartels and take out drug labs. Esper said he objected. (Trump has previously refused to comment on the…
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