'If You Can Keep It': How Trump Deals With Foreign Adversaries

1A · Mar 23, 2026 · 44m

The U.S. has a long history of getting rid of foreign leaders it doesn’t like. But a new pattern has emerged in the Trump administration’s dealings with its foreign adversaries.

In January, the president ordered a precision military operation that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the U.S. The next month, the administration launched a high-powered bombing campaign against Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader and dozens of its top officials.

In both cases, Trump said the countries’ fates were ultimately up to the citizens — a striking change from the nation…