Nations take military action against other countries and individuals for all different reasons. Escalating threats, broken diplomacy, violations of international law, you name it. And then there’s dancing. Yes, Maduro’s dance was the Trump administration’s last straw to launch their Jan. 3 strike on Venezuela.
The Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, has a well-known habit of bouncing, smiling, and dancing on state television. Most recently, he went viral dancing to a remix of his own “No War, Yes Peace” message. But according to The New York Times, his dance made Washington feel mocked. Adding fuel to the fire, Maduro’s dance moves were a little too similar to Donald Trump‘s signature robotic dance.
On Jan. 6, Trump couldn’t stop himself from mentioning Maduro’s dance either. While addressing House GOP members at the Kennedy Center, he said, “He’s a violent guy. He gets up there, and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit.” But how dare another leader do the “Trump dance” better than Trump himself?
U.S. officials saw Maduro’s dance as proof that he wasn’t taking American warnings seriously
The choreography became Maduro’s ultimate sin. The U.S. had been planning to strike Venezuela for a long time. But the viral dance finally pushed them to follow through. We knew Trump would react badly to being outperformed in a public spectacle. But treating a dance as the last push to kidnap a world leader is ridiculous, even for the grumpy grandpa.
Sadly, this is not satire. The reporting makes clear that some officials believed Maduro’s dance signaled defiance, or even ridicule toward Washington. Their reasoning? No leader who fears U.S. retaliation would dare look that carefree on television.
The United States once used to measure resolve with troop movements, diplomatic cables, or intelligence intercepts. Now it’s vibes and body language. It’s hard to imagine a thinner reed on which to hang military escalation. One user on X distilled the moment perfectly, jokingly laying out what Trump probably said after watching Maduro dance:
“How dare MADURO out-dance ME!!! Doesn’t he know I’m the BEST dancer that has EVER DANCED IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!?! Nobody can dance better than I can, not even Michael Jackson (who I always said was overrated). Somebody needs to go GET Maduro IMMEDIATELY!!!”
Social media users lost it over the report
Others were less charitable, suggesting, “He was just jealous that Maduro is a better dancer.” If the report is true, Trump was definitely offended that Maduro moved with more rhythm and less stiffness. So, on January 3, he finally captured Maduro after launching a series of secret strikes all over Venezuela. Who knows, they might be having a dace-off now.
While the DoJ gave narco-terrorism as the reason for the operation, the whole dance situation reveals something concerning. A foreign leader’s public appearance, interpreted through the lens of presidential insecurity, is prompting military intervention from America now. Clearly, Trump is easily baited. If mockery, or even the suggestion of mockery, is involved, he escalates to extremes. These are probably not the best qualities for a man holding one of the most powerful offices in the world.
The line between national security and personal grievance has collapsed entirely if the NYT report is to be believed. As one user put it, all you have to do to get this administration’s attention is mock Trump.
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