MS NOW Analyst Says Trump Using ‘Godfather-Style Method’ Against Maduro: ‘Maybe Woke Up This Morning and Found a Horse Head in His Bed’

MS NOW analyst Eugene Robinson compared President Donald Trump’s tactics with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to a “Godfather-style method.”

On Friday’s Morning Joe, Robinson and diplomat and author Richard Haas joined the table to discuss the latest tensions between the United States and Venezuela as Trump’s administration continues to strike boats out of the country they claim are carrying drugs to the United States.

Trump officials have accused Maduro of being the head of the alleged drug-smuggling operation.

In a piece for Project Syndicate, Haas argued that Trump’s “unconstrained presidency is at odds with the American political tradition,” adding that the president has asserted more power with the executive branch, especially with his foreign policy decisions.

“Central to American government and democracy is the notion of checks and balances – that the three branches of the federal government are meant to govern jointly and ensure that no single branch dominates. This has failed utterly: Trump acts, and few react,” Haas wrote.

On Friday, he argued that “regime change” is likely not the goal in Venezuela, despite Maduro’s election victory being challenged by his opposition and global officials. Haas argued the goal is to end any drug-smuggling and to open up the country to American companies looking for access to oil.

Maduro said this week Venezuela is “ready” to talk to the United States about efforts to combat drug-trafficking. This, Haas argued, suggests Maduro could remain in power and simply benefit from a deal with American companies.

Robinson agreed and said the extreme pressure campaign is straight out of 1972’s The Godfather, centered on an Italian-American mafia family and based on the novel by Mario Puzo.

Robinson said:

Maybe Maduro woke up this morning and found a horse head in his bed. You know, it’s kind of The Godfather method of persuasion. But I think, you know, I think Richard is right. I think this does sound to me like a deal that Donald Trump might take, and it’s sort of consistent with what he’s doing. But it seems to me that that Marco Rubio will probably fight this tooth and nail, because my assumption has been that Rubio’s real interest, or at least one of his interests in trying to get rid of Maduro is to — is to stop Venezuela’s support of Cuba, which the government in Cuba, without Venezuelan oil, the Cuban economy would be in an even worse situation than it is now.

Watch above via MS NOW.