A four-year-old jab from Joe Biden aimed at President Donald Trump suddenly returned to center stage this weekend, after Trump authorized the arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro on drug-trafficking and terrorism charges — a move that set off sharp reactions across the political spectrum.

The remark, originally posted in June 2020 in response to an Axios report, resurfaced rapidly as critics and supporters alike revisited Biden’s earlier assessment of Trump’s Venezuela policy.

“Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolás Maduro,” Biden wrote at the time.

“As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy,” Biden added.

Following the dramatic weekend operation at Miraflores, Maduro’s official residence, conservatives — joined by at least one left-leaning activist — circulated the comment as an example of what several users described as rhetoric that “aged like milk.”

“A tweet that did not age well,” Fox News host and former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany commented.

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, now running for governor, reacted bluntly.

“Whoops,” Tuberville wrote.

“And now, every Democrat is denouncing an operation to execute a federal warrant while we slept,” he added.

Tuberville went further, arguing that the backlash revealed a deeper problem.

“Democrats have no principles [and] it’s about whatever way the left wind is blowing to gain power,” he said.

“Yesterday’s margaritas with Kilmar Abrego Garcia is today’s Maduro,” Tuberville continued. “They’ll support a drug-trafficking dictator because this was another Trump win. Guaranteed.”

The Trump campaign’s “Rapid Response 47” account also amplified the moment, reposting Biden’s old message alongside an image of Maduro blindfolded aboard a U.S. government aircraft after his arrest.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, whose Butler County district includes the site of Trump’s near-assassination in 2024, added a jab of his own.

“Has anyone called to see if Joe is still sleeping?” Bernstine asked.

One user replied by posting a clip of Earl Sinclair from the 1990s ABC sitcom Dinosaurs, showing the character dropping a glass in shock.

“This aged well,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, remarked of Biden’s earlier post.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee echoed that sentiment in a separate social media post, praising Trump’s approach.

“Doesn’t just talk tough, he is tough,” Blackburn said.

“Does Joe Biden have anything to say now?” she asked, as others noted that Biden himself had previously labeled Maduro a dictator and condemned his “human rights violations and extrajudicial killings.”

Former NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro drew a broader comparison.

“Wait. You mean ‘Don’t’ diplomacy didn’t get it done?” Mauro wrote.

He was referring to Biden’s widely replayed response when asked what message he would send Iran to deter interference in Israel.

“Don’t,” Biden said before exiting the stage at an event hosted by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

Critics also revisited moments from the Biden administration that appeared to soften its posture toward Caracas. In 2022, climate envoy John Kerry was filmed smiling and shaking hands with Maduro at the UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

When questioned about the interaction, Kerry spokesman Ned Price said the Venezuelan leader had “interrupted what was an ongoing meeting at COP27,” describing the encounter as “very much an unplanned interaction.”

Others pointed out that the initial bounty on Maduro was established in 2015 under Barack Obama and later increased by the Biden administration, before being doubled to $50 million under Trump.

Ja’Mal Green, a former Chicago mayoral candidate and community activist who once aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders but now identifies as “politically independent,” argued that Biden’s posture lacked follow-through.

“Joe Biden hated Maduro just as much. He just wasn’t bold enough to get him,” Green said.

“All [Biden] did was impose sanctions and never get the money owed. Democrats have to stop.”

Green accused the Biden administration of standing by while Maduro tightened his grip on Venezuela.

“Under Biden, he watched as Maduro slaughtered and oppressed the people of Venezuela. He watched as Maduro lost the election but still declared himself the winner. He then just allowed millions of Venezuelans to come to America to claim refuge, costing us hundreds of billions of dollars,” Green said, adding that he has also criticized Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson over the city’s handling of illegal immigration.

“Under Trump, Maduro FAFO. He swooped in and took him out of the country altogether,” Green said.

He concluded by framing the arrest as a necessary break from failed engagement.

“Regardless of our disagreements, sometimes diplomacy doesn’t work, and we must use aggression to free a nation. Trump freed Venezuelans today and I hope one day they can go home to a stable country.”

Green also mocked protests against Trump, saying the most bizarre reaction was from “socialist[s] crying about Trump taking Maduro” while accusing the president of seeking regime change.

“Maduro didn’t win the election. He’s only there because he took over the country,” Green said. “I thought y’all didn’t want kings.”

{Matzav.com}

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