Trump and his allies secured a major win with the surprise attack on Venezuela, followed by the capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife. While the move has sent shock waves across many other countries, it did not stop Pete Hegseth from starting off with his relentless praise for the U.S. President for creating history. Celebrating the successful operation at Mar-A-Lago on January 3, the Defense Secretary proclaimed that America is capable of projecting its will and force anywhere.
Supplying his usual rhetoric, Hegseth said, “As the president said, our adversaries remain on notice. America can project our will anywhere, anytime. The coordination, the stealth, the lethality, the precision. The very long arm of American justice was all on full display in the middle of the night. Nicolás Maduro had his chance just like Iran had their chance, until they didn’t and until he didn’t. He F—-d around and found out.”
The live telecast of Hegseth’s speech was part of The Bulwark Podcast, which was graced by retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling. With the choice of words Hegseth used for the operation and Trump’s visible pride in the background, the army general seemed to have no more in him than to make a visible facepalm.
tell us how you really feel Mark Hertling? pic.twitter.com/TefjG2Xcm0
— Grover One (@groversmith1) January 3, 2026
Although his presence was remote, his silent response is now doing all the talking on social media. To break it down in detail, as soon as Pete Hegseth stated that Maduro was captured when he “f—-d around and found out”, the army general gave an unmistakable eye roll signifying sheer disbelief.
Moving on, the defense secretary’s choice of words appreciating the speed and precision of the U.S. forces in capturing the Venezuelan President made Hertling react in real time.
He just held his palm over his face as if weighed down by what he was hearing. While it was a reaction captured over just a few fleeting seconds, it did end up becoming the focal point of discussion, over and above Trump’s presence and Hegseth’s praises. In fact, the stark reaction even led many to believe that there was a broader unease within the administration itself when it comes to the escalating use of military force and the amount of rhetoric surrounding it.
Coming to online reactions to Hertling’s reaction, netizens had seemingly vivid perspectives on the same. It evidently came across as an unfiltered verdict of the reality behind the Trump administration, coming straight from a career military officer. One of the users thus penned, “Dude knew he was on camera and didn’t avoid reacting”, while a second one commented, “He definitely made a statement loud and clear without speaking. He took his stance.”
pic.twitter.com/FCgBmSEcB6 Sam Stein “Are we at war?” –
Mark Hertling: “Yeah, without a doubt” –
— Lavy (@Lavy02) January 3, 2026
Some more netizens even felt the need for retired army officers like Hertling to team up with the currently posted officers and take action against the entire matter. A social media user wrote on X, “These retired guys need to get together with some active members of the military and cook up a plan to deal with this. Your oath doesn’t end because you’re retired.”
Well, the great Venezuelan attack has been getting a week-long defense from Republican officials. They promptly justified Trump’s actions, while criticizing Nicolas Maduro’s corrupt hold on power. Amid the stiff criticism against the unannounced and sudden attack, it seems the U.S. President’s ulterior plan of action is more threatening to countries like Greenland and Denmark already.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, in his strong first statement supporting the annexation of Venezuela, said, “This isn’t a country that’s on the other side of the world… We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful, and where the oil is allowed to freely come out… It gets the prices down. That’s good for OUR country.”
