"Attention! I Need Some Attention Over Here!"

'Show no mercy': Trump calls for 'immediate' military strikes on cartels -- authorized by him https://t.co/wLJ8zzT9xm

— Raw Story (@RawStory) January 5, 2023

"When I am president it will be the policy of our nation to take down the cartels, just as we took down ISIS and the ISIS caliphate," Trump said, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Unlike the situation where we are today, we had a very, very strong border -- the strongest border, in fact, in the history of our country -- and drugs were at a low of 45 years. There's been nothing like what we did just two years ago."

"We will show no mercy on the cartels," he added.

The twice-impeached former president vowed to authorize military force, including the U.S. Navy, to stop foreign cartels from smuggling fentanyl and other drugs into the country, and he recited a litany of inaccurate, misleading and incendiary claims to justify the actions.

"We will guarantee that the waters of the Western Hemisphere are not used to traffic illicit drugs to our country," Trump said. "Furthermore, I will order the Department of Defense to make appropriate use of special forces, cyber warfare and other overt and covert actions to inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership, infrastructure and operations. I will designate the major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. We will sever their access to global financial systems."

After laying out his military strategy and raising the stakes to an existential crisis, Trump suggested the threat was too great to wait two years for the inauguration of another president.

"We have to take over, we have to be tough, we have to be smart, we have to be fair," he concluded, "but if we don't do something immediately, our country is gone."

ME, ME!!! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!!!!!!!!

Trump called up an anti-McCarthy GOP holdout — but failed to sway him: report https://t.co/f9sXEVhdSm

— Raw Story (@RawStory) January 5, 2023

Because nobody is paying attention; not even in the GOP.

Trump facilitated a direct call between Scott Perry and McCarthy on Tuesday night, which he was also on, and he pressed Perry. Perry is part of the negotiations w McCarthy, but has voted against him multiple times since https://t.co/8OsFkkJIl7

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 5, 2023

Gee, what are they paying attention to? 🤔

BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy just lost his bid to be Speaker for the NINTH time, with 5 House Republicans voting against him so far. That means there will be a 10th round of voting, which hasn’t happened since 1833, nearly *200* years ago. A party in absolute chaos & disarray.

— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) January 5, 2023

Hilarious to hear Westerman (R-AR) on MSNBC saying the new House Rs will change the rules to pass separate appropriations bills, a budget etc…

These guys can’t even vote to adjourn.
How will they pass budgets ?

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) January 5, 2023

The old, toothless, mangy housecat, in winter.