'There Is No Rift in the Republican Party': GOP Voters Back Trump's Venezuela Operation, Polls Show
Republicans are overwhelmingly united behind the Trump administration’s successful operation to capture former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, with only a small faction of holdouts breaking ranks, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten reported Tuesday.
"Let me be very clear. There is no rift in the Republican Party. Yes, there are some folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, who are quite skeptical of this. They are very much in the minority," Enten said on CNN News Central.
Enten cited Reuters/Ipsos and Washington Post polls that found 65 percent and 74 percent of Republicans support the U.S. military’s ouster of Maduro, respectively. Ipsos found only 6 percent of the GOP opposes the move, while the Post found 10 percent in opposition.
Among President Donald Trump’s base, the backing is even stronger. "If you look at 2024 Trump supporters, we’re talking about 80 percent support," Enten said. "The vast majority of Republicans are with Donald Trump on this issue. Donald Trump has had an iron grip—an iron grip—on that Republican base for a long period of time, and it is the same iron grip that he had six months ago."
Trump’s approval rating also remains strong among Republicans, increasing 1 percentage point, up to 85 percent, compared with six months ago, according to Reuters/Ipsos.
That polling stands in stark contrast to media speculation that the Venezuela operation could divide the GOP, particularly "America First" Republicans. "It ain’t happening," Enten said.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, the United States initiated Operation Absolute Resolve. It began with "discreet, precise" strikes on Venezuela, with more than 150 aircraft launching from positions across the Western Hemisphere. An "interdiction force" dropped into downtown Caracas and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The mission concluded without a single American death.
The pair was brought to New York City, where both pleaded not guilty in federal court to drug trafficking charges. Maduro claimed he was "kidnapped."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will play a lead role in the United States' ongoing interests in Venezuela, is "definitely getting the fruits" of the operation, Enten said. He noted that Google searches for Rubio surged 575 percent compared with last month, while the Kalshi prediction market shows his chances of becoming the 2028 GOP presidential nominee more than doubled over the same period, up to 18 percent.
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