Megyn Kelly expressed a need for prudence regarding Donald Trump’s military actions in Venezuela, cautioning against Fox News, her former network, from overly endorsing these initiatives.

Though Kelly affirmed her support for both Trump and the military, she speculated on the atmosphere at Fox News following the hypothetical capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, had she still been employed there.

“I knew the expectation was to support it enthusiastically,” Kelly remarked on her show, The Megyn Kelly Show, on Monday. “When I tuned into Fox News yesterday, it felt as though I was watching Russian state media. There was an absence of skepticism, replaced by pure enthusiasm and support.”

She emphasized the necessity of caution, advocating for a more critical approach before joining the “cheerleading bandwagon.”

Kelly referenced past U.S. military interventions in Iraq and Libya, highlighting their descent into complex situations, which she argued have ended unfavorably in the majority of cases.

‘I have seen what happens when you cheerlead unabashedly US intervention in foreign countries, thinking it’s for our good and for the international good,’ she said.

She further criticized Fox News, saying that she has ‘been embarrassed’ in the past by being in what she called ‘green light territory’ on approving the actions of US military involvements overseas. 

‘We’re not great at going into these foreign countries, decapitating them at the leadership level, and then saying, either we’re going to steer the country to a better place, or it’s going to steer itself.’

Megyn Kelly said she would ‘exercise caution’ over Donald Trump’s military operation in Venezuela and warned against her former employers at Fox News ‘cheerleading’ the efforts

Kelly, who made it clear that she remains pro-Trump and pro-military, described what the environment would have been like following the capture of leader Nicolas Maduro at Fox if she still worked there

Kelly spoke with outright disdain toward the idea of ‘boots on the ground’ which Trump has suggested in Venezuela, thinking of her teenage children.

‘I speak for a lot of moms and dads, for that matter, when I say I’m staying in yellow territory until we know more, and I will not be joining the Fox News cheerleading brigade this time. I’ve been burned too many times,’ she said. 

She also took shots at South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who was at Trump’s side cheering his efforts on Air Force One Sunday.

‘The fact that Lindsey Graham is standing next to him is enough for me to know I don’t want it. I’m concerned. All of the neocons have been celebrating this whole thing like it’s, you know, Christmas in January, and that alone gives me pause. When Lindsey Graham is cheering, I’m not.’ 

To demonstrate her skepticism, her guest on the subject was anti-war journalist Aaron Mate. 

On Monday evening, Trump said the US must ‘nurse’ Venezuela back to health with the help of oil companies and taxpayers might have to help foot the bill. 

Trump said it will cost ‘a lot of money’ to rebuild the South American country’s energy infrastructure but thinks the US can do it ahead of that 18 month timeline. 

However, he added that the American taxpayers may be on the hook for it, as the oil companies may receive assistance to do so. 

She also took shots at South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who was at Trump’s side cheering his efforts on Air Force One Sunday

On Monday evening, Trump said the US must ‘nurse’ Venezuela back to health with the help of oil companies and taxpayers might have to help foot the bill following Maduro’s arrest

‘I think we can do it in less time than that, but it’ll be a lot of money,’ he told NBC News. 

‘A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.’

When asked if Trump’s ‘America First’ base would stand for nation-building overseas, the president backed himself to maintain the support of his voters.  

‘MAGA loves it. MAGA loves what I’m doing. MAGA loves everything I do. MAGA is me. MAGA loves everything I do, and I love everything I do, too,’ he said. 

Trump also told NBC News that the project could take the next 18 months before Venezuelans elect a new president. 

‘We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,’ Trump said.

‘No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have — we have to nurse the country back to health.’

The president shouted out Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller as people responsible for overseeing the process. 

The preliminary hearing for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro devolved into chaos as the deposed leader’s fury boiled over, sparking a shouting match with a man who claimed he had been jailed by Maduro’s regime and warned he would ‘pay’ 

However, ultimately he said ‘me’ when asked who was responsible. 

The president promised that America’s problem is with the people he refers to as narcoterrorists and that the US is not at war with Venezuela.  

He also insisted the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela.

‘No, we’re not. We’re at war with people that sell drugs. We’re at war with people that empty their prisons into our country and empty their drug addicts and empty their mental institutions into our country,’ he said.

Trump said that Marco Rubio ‘speaks fluently in Spanish’ to interim President Delcy Rodriguez but would not say whether he’d spoken to her yet. 

Trump hasn’t minced words about the larger message he’s trying to send the world with the raid to capture Maduro and spirit the deposed Venezuelan leader and his wife to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges.

‘American dominance in the Western Hemisphere,’ Trump declared following Maduro’s capture, ‘will never be questioned again.’

In the days since the audacious raid, Trump and his team have doubled down on the notion that the new focus on American preeminence in the hemisphere is here to stay. 

He also held up Maduro’s capture to make the case to neighbors to get in line or potentially face consequences.