We reported on the US seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration said it was acting violation of sanctions.
The tanker, known as Skipper, has been on the US sanctions list for years for allegedly moving crude oil linked to a secret Venezuelan-Iranian oil network that Washington says has helped foreign terrorist organizations generate revenue.
The designation made the vessel “imposed property” under U.S. law, allowing the Justice Department to seek and obtain a federal forfeiture order for the vessel under civil forfeiture laws, officials said. That process, based on domestic law and administered through a U.S. court, is the basis for Thursday's operation, administration officials said.
READ MORE: Venezuelan tanker's GPS deception exposed: it loaded millions of sanctioned Venezuelan oil
But when one reporter asked Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) about the tanker, her question was inappropriate, so Schmitt let her ask it. Talk about moving the narrative forward with this question.
🚨WATCH: Sep. @Eric_Schmitt claps back to the reporter.
REPORTER: If you can take over an oil tanker without killing anyone, shouldn't those fishing boats be stopped the same way?
SCHMITT: Fishing boats?! What is a fishing boat? Drug dealers?
REPORTER:… pic.twitter.com/Zl73p3KLFY
— Daily Call (@DailyCaller) December 11, 2025
“If you can hijack an oil tanker without killing anyone, shouldn’t these fishing boats be stopped in the same way?” – asked the reporter.
Schmitt was struck by the boldness of this term.”Fishing boats?! What is a fishing boat? Drug dealers?”
“These are not fishing boats,” he corrected her.
“Yes, but…” she said.
“These are not fishing boats,” he said. He began to explain that they were “turbocharged” when she interrupted him about the seizure of drug boats.
Schmitt explained that the Trump administration had the legal authority to destroy the drug ships because they were designated as foreign terrorists. This differed from the legal justification for the seizure of the tanker, which included “economic sanctions by the President delegated by Congress” that were “enforced by civilian authorities with the assistance of the United States Navy.” Schmitt said those are two completely different things. Plus, if the US military tries to board heavily armed drug ships, you're also exposing them to more harm.
Schmitt said he has no sympathy for narco-terrorists; he sympathized with his neighbors in Missouri who were suffering from imported drugs and who were “poisoned and died.”
Schmitt was glad that “finally we have a president who cares about them” and not about Democrats who go to El Salvador “to drink margaritas.”
It was a “gotcha” attempt that backfired on this reporter. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth named Schmitt answer“Exactly, well said.”
There was also a bonus blow when another reporter asked whether Schmitt thought Trump should oust Maduro. Schmitt rejected this, saying that was not the point, but that we must protect our interests in the region.
Good on Schmitt for holding the media accountable.
Editor's note: Thanks to President Trump and the courageous leadership of his administration, we are respected on the world stage and our enemies are being highlighted.
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