4 January—Donald Trump blathered and rambled yesterday as he wallowed in the criminal glory of having watched while the excessive military and paramilitary forces he deployed at the waste of still more billions of dollars kidnapped Nicolás and Cilia Maduro. He also sounded like he was ready to fall asleep. But this time he was able to stay awake. Had he been popping uppers or just guzzling sugared Coke rather than his preferred Diet Coke to keep awake (if not alert) in the Situation Room—and the press conference?

Trump boasted or promised or warned or threatened (all four, most likely) at his ego-boost bragfest, “We’re going to run the country.” No surprise there. So we immediately think of the way dictators and their evil satraps “ran” nations they invaded—like Nazi occupation of France and Poland and Norway, among Hitler’s victimized countries, and later Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe.

The obvious implication is that Trump intends for his faithful flunkies to take over—usurp—the government of Venezuela, legitimate or illegitimate as it may be. So consider the obvious irony: There’s no doubt that Nicolás Maduro was a dictator who did anything that suited his narcissistic fancy, damn his country’s constitution and laws.

But there’s no doubt that Donald Trump is a dictator who does anything that suits his narcissistic fancy, damn his country’s constitution and laws. So when you get right down to it, what difference will it make to Venezuelans if one autocrat replaces another autocrat? Seems like old times down there . . .