CNN host Jake Tapper and Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, got into a heated clash on Monday afternoon over the Trump administration’s goals for Venezuela after it arrested the country’s leader over the weekend.
Early on Saturday morning, U.S. military troops arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and brought them to the United States to stand trial on narco-terrorism and weapons charges. Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on Monday.
The move set off a firestorm of debate about the Trump administration’s legal authority and goals for the move. Miller joined Tapper on CNN’s “The Lead” on Monday to provide some insight.
The conversation got testy after Tapper started asking Miller if Venezuela should hold elections to select a new leader instead of handing the country over to one of Maduro’s underlings.
“It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our own backyard to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries, but not to us, to hoard weapons from our adversaries, to be able to be positioned as an asset against the United States, rather than on behalf of the United States,” Miller said after Tapper asking about elections the first time.
“Sovereign countries shouldn’t be able to do what they want to do?” Tapper replied perplexedly.
“I know you love doing that smarmy thing, Jake, and I was hoping you’d be better than that this time,” Miller said tersely.
“The objective, Jake, is security and stability for the people of Venezuela,” Miller continued.
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