Is Donald Trump taking a pause from his peacekeeping efforts? The POTUS recently expressed frustration with the Nobel Committee for snubbing him, even though, as he claimed, he truly deserved the Peace Prize. Now, he has made another bold statement amid the government shutdown that has raised some eyebrows.
On Thursday, he bluntly told a White House reporter that he would continue to ignore Congress by striking boats in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. “We’re just gonna kill people,” said the Republican leader.
The reporter asked him, “Mr. President, if you are declaring war against these cartels and Congress is likely to approve of that process, why not just ask for a declaration of war?” The question came after the military made a ninth strike against a cartel, which was allegedly carrying drugs. With this attack, the death toll has now risen to 37 in just under two months.
🚨 BREAKING: US strikes another drug-trafficking boat in international waters near Venezuelan coast, Trump confirms pic.twitter.com/80EixnjtYE
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 14, 2025
“I don’t think we’re gonna necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” the President said, responding to the reporter’s question. He added, “I think we’re just gonna kill people. Okay? We’re gonna kill them. They’re gonna be, like, dead.”
His response quickly went viral online, with people commenting on his “bloodthirst”. One X (formerly Twitter) user commented, “This is treason! This is high crimes and misdemeanors! This is the endorsement of straight-up murder! He is advocating for the murder of citizens of other countries without process and without proof of guilt! This is grounds to remove him.”
“Bloodthirsty,” wrote another, while a third added, “So he’s openly admitting to committing murder. Who are we?” This outrage comes after the U.S. military killed three people on Wednesday in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth himself shared another strike on Tuesday night, which killed two people in the eastern Pacific.
.@SecWar Pete Hegseth on the cartels: “This is the Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere.” pic.twitter.com/RgLoX1KMzE
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) October 23, 2025
All these strikes are Donald Trump‘s campaign against drug trafficking in South America. Hegseth wrote on social media, “Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people.” He also added that “there will be no refuge or forgiveness — only justice.”
When asked about the latest boat attack, the POTUS insisted that the administration has “legal authority.” “We will hit them very hard when they come in by land. We’re totally prepared to do that. And we’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land,” he told the reporters.
