What Next - Trump Blew Up 11 People. Is That Legal?
Slate News
Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 10 September 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Last week, Donald Trump announced the military had blown up what he said was a drug-smuggling boat. This week, we still don’t know why he believes the boat was full of smugglers.
But even if they were trafficking drugs, can the president legally blow up 11 people in international waters?
Guests: Shane Harris, staff writer covering national security and intelligence for The Atlantic.
Ana Vanessa Herrero, journalist based in Caracas, Venezuela and reporting on South America for the Washington Post.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is presented by eBay. |
| 0:03.7 | Rob, everyone loves a deal and a bargain from time to time, don't they? |
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| 1:20.4 | It's a sign of the Times that last week, the President of the United States snuck the news of a major military action into the end of an Oval Office news conference. |
| 1:27.1 | So thank you all very much. |
| 1:29.1 | You are going to leave me alone now. |
| 1:31.1 | You're not going to call me anymore and talk about this subject, right? |
| 1:34.0 | You promise. |
| 1:34.5 | This news conference was on Monday, September 2nd. |
... |
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