Sen. Rand Paul blames Sen. Lindsey Graham for Trump actions in Venezuela

By Jerry McConway
updated on January 6, 2026

There must be something in the water in Kentucky because that state is really giving Donald Trump a lot of problems.

The latest of the Bluegrass discontents is Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who continues to make a stink over the alleged drug boat strikes as well as the arrest of Nicolas Maduro.

Now, Paul is picking a fight with a fellow Republican lawmaker, claiming that it was Sen. Lindsey Graham who put the idea in Trump’s head to go after Maduro.

Amazing

Graham has a bit of a reputation as a war monger, as he believes in wielding the United States’ big stick whenever possible.

As such, it was no surprise to see him support the Maduro arrest.

He posted to X, “As we celebrate this amazing achievement by our military commanded by @POTUS, we must remember the consequences of what has happened. An evil, narcoterrorist dictator has fallen, creating a path for freedom for the wonderful, highly intelligent, hard working people of Venezuela.”

Graham continued, "It is in America’s interest to bring justice to Maduro, an illegitimate narcoterrorist dictator with American blood on his hands."

It’s Graham’s fault

Sen. Paul quickly grabbed onto that and blamed Graham for getting in Trump’s ear about attacking Venezuela.

He stated, “This is Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham has gotten to the president, who expressed — I saw a clip — there’s like 20 clips of [Trump] saying he’s not for regime change and how regime change has always gone wrong. Somehow they’ve convinced him it’s different if it’s in our hemisphere.”

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also hit Trump regarding the strike, operation, stating, “Our neighborhood is right here in the 50 United States, not in the Southern Hemisphere.”

And by the way, Graham was not done, as he has indicated that he wants to see Trump take even more actions.

Cuba is next

Graham discussed the strike with Trey Gowdy on Fox News, and he seemed to think that there would be a domino effect here.

He stated, “There’s no way that the communist dictatorship in Cuba survives after the takedown of Maduro. It is over, it’s just a matter of time.”

Graham appears to be on the same page as Sec. of State Marco Rubio, who added, “It’s very similar [to Venezuela] in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people who are forced out of Cuba and living in this country.”

I think we are starting to see a real fracture in the GOP in terms of multiple members no longer supporting all things Trump. There are rumblings now, but I think once the primary races are over, the gloves are really going to be off. The only question is how it will impact the midterms and beyond.

About Jerry McConway

Jerry McConway is the Senior Editorial Director at American Digest Media, as well as the featured columnist on Real Talk Digest. He has been covering politics for more than a decade. His no-nonsense writing style makes him enemy number one in DC. His mission is to tell the truth to readers, good or bad, something the mainstream media has failed to do for decades. What sets Jerry apart from his competition is reader loyalty. They don't always agree with him, but they know he tells them the truth. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him.

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