There is lots of speculation as to just why Donald Trump invaded Venezuela to grab President Nicolás Maduro. and his wife and bring them to the U.S. to face drug charges. Trump’s stated reason–Maduro was a drug kingpin–doesn’t hold much water since the Trump himself pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was convicted of trafficking 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. It could be Venezuela’s oil reserves, which Trump sees as a goldmine for U.S. companies.

Or it could be that Maduro hurt Trump’s feelings by dancing.

According to The New York Times, the U.S. had been trying to entice Maduro to leave the country voluntarily and go into exile in Turkey. After he got an ultimatum late last month. Maduro responded by dancing on a stage with his supporters, chanting “no crazy war.”

Apparently, Maduro’s flip response was too much for Trump and his followers. They felt that it disrespected Trump. Three days later, the U.S. invaded Venezuela.

Maduro has a history of dancing to make fun of his opponents, including the U.S. The White House read this is taunting the U.S. and, according to The Times, decided enough was enough. Three days after Maduro’s dance, the U.S. invaded Venezuela.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

Trump’s own attempts at dancing consist largely of him pumping his fist to the Village People’s YMCA, the gay anthem that Trump has adopted for the MAGA playlist.

The fallout from the U.S. invasion continues to grow. Despite insisting that the Trump’s chosen successor to Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, is onboard with the invasion, Rodríguez has been defiant in her public remarks, calling the invasion “an atrocity that violates international law.” In turn, Trump hinted darkly in an interview with The Atlantic that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”

In the same interview, Trump made it clear that what he sees as the quick work in Venezuela means he can keep illegally invading other countries, such as Greenland and Mexico. “[W]e do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense,” Trump told The Atlantic.

Trump is returning to his usual strategy to distract attention from his other problems, notably the Epstein files. Saturday was not only the date of the invasion but also the date that the Department of Justice was supposed to explain the redactions in the files that were released.

“We are sure it’s just a coincidence, but today is the statutory date for the DOJ to explain its redactions in the Epstein file productions,” the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee posted on X.

Last Friday, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, announced that they would try to go around Trump’s DOJ by calling on the Southern District Court of New York to appoint a “special master” to makes sure all the files are made public. The DOJ says it has 400 lawyers working on the files and will make them public on Jan. 20.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.