‘Threats Must be Taken Seriously!’ MAGA Influencers Fume Over Colombia’s President Saying He Wants to ‘Get Rid of Trump’
(Screengrab via Univision)
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro provoked MAGA fury on Tuesday after a viral clip showed him appearing to suggest that “humanity” should “get rid” of President Donald Trump in a new interview as the pair continue their spiralling diplomatic feud over U.S. strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats.
Over the weekend, Trump announced he would be “closing up the killing fields” in Colombia and cutting U.S. subsidies to the country. The move came when Petro accused the U.S. of the “murder” of an innocent fisherman in a September 15 strike on what the administration alleged was a drug-running vessel off Colombia’s coast.
At the end of a televised interview with Univision released on Monday, journalist Daniel Coronell asked Petro whether the situation between the countries could be resolved with “wisdom and pragmatism” when the president offered his reply.
He said: “The problem is that I doubt that this is on Trump’s mind. But I trust that the democratic resolve of the American institutions, which do not exist yet in Colombia, are able to put science and truth above slander and arrogance and greed.”
“You mission is not to change Trump,” Coronell summed up.
“No,” the president replied.
“Your mission is to seek the best possible negotiation for those millions of Colombians who depend on those jobs and that economy,” the journalist added, alluding to coastal fishing communities.
Petro added: “Humanity has a first offramp, it is to choose to change Trump in various ways.”
He then added, “The easiest way may be through Trump himself. If not – get rid of Trump” — snapping his fingers for emphasis.
The remarks, translated from Spanish, drew immediate condemnation from angry supporters of the president and even lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Relations between Trump and Petro have deteriorated rapidly over cooperation with the administration’s renewed “war on drugs.” Trump has accused Petro’s government of allowing coca production to surge, while Petro insists U.S. military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats are violating Colombia’s sovereignty.
