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Andrea Austria // Media Matters

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Right-wing media continue to praise Trump's legally questionable boat strikes in the Caribbean

The strikes, which have killed at least 83, came under additional scrutiny following reports that a follow-up was ordered to kill survivors of a September 2 attack

Written by Jack Winstanley & Noah Dowe

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Right-wing media have continued to defend and even praise the Trump administration’s military actions in the Caribbean as questions linger over the legality of the recent boat strikes, including after The Washington Post reported that a second strike was launched to kill survivors during an attack in September, prompting congressional inquiries.

Despite these new allegations and continued warnings from experts that these strikes could be “extrajudicial killing” or a “war crime,” figures on Fox News and other right-wing media applauded the administration for “just blowing up the boats,” and said they will “vote for the government that will mercilessly kill drug dealers.”

They’ve also defended President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth following the Post’s reporting that the latter called for the follow-up strike, arguing that “international laws aren’t real” and saying they would “really like to see them suffer.”

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  • New reporting on the strikes raises concerns about potential “war crime,” building on previous warnings from legal experts and at least one U.S. ally

    • Following a report from The Washington Post that the September 2 strike on a suspected drug trafficking vessel initially left survivors, both the House and Senate announced that they would launch separate inquiries into the strike. The Washington Post reported that Hegseth had given an order to “kill everybody” during the September 2 boat strike that left 11 dead, with the Joint Special Operations commander launching a second missile to kill survivors of the initial strike in order “to comply with Hegseth's instructions.” Some legal experts have posited that the strikes amount to either a “war crime” or “murder.” According to the Post, “a group of former military lawyers and senior leaders” said in a statement that “not only does international law prohibit targeting these survivors, but it also requires the attacking force to protect, rescue, and, if applicable, treat them as prisoners of war” and that “violations of these obligations are war crimes, murder, or both.” Though Hegseth has since said the story was “fabricated,” it’s worth noting that he used his time as a Fox host to lobby the Trump administration to pardon Americans accused and convicted of war crimes. [The Washington Post, 11/29/25, 12/1/25; The Hill, 12/1/25; NBC News, 11/29/25; Media Matters, 12/1/25]
    • Since September, the Trump administration has carried out at least 21 strikes targeting what they have claimed are suspected drug smuggling vessels, in which at least 83 people have been killed. The administration has argued that the boats are carrying fentanyl, cocaine, or other narcotics and are being operated by “narcoterrorists.” [CNN, 11/16/25; ABC News, 11/16/25]
    • The strikes have drawn bipartisan concern in Washington, and several legal experts have said they are likely illegal. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) stated during a Fox News appearance that Congress has seen “no evidence” to support the administration's claims that the strikes have targeted drug traffickers. The New York Times has reported that a “broad range of specialists in laws governing the use of lethal force have called Mr. Trump’s orders to the military patently illegal.” [The Hill, 10/26/25; The New York Times, 10/24/25]
    • In early November, CNN reported that the United Kingdom “is no longer sharing intelligence” on vessels in the Caribbean with the U.S. “because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal.” Similarly, the UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk stated that the strikes amount to “extrajudicial killing.” [CNN, 11/11/25]
    • Over the last few months, many in right-wing media have defended the attacks, hand-waved criticism, and even pushed for escalation with Venezuela. In the immediate wake of the strikes, several right-wing media figures rushed to put forward their own legal justifications, with Fox host Laura Ingraham arguing that those opposed to the strikes were “defending the drug lords.” As the strikes continued, Fox News figures continued to validate the strikes as a “great move” and some even suggested they would support regime change in Venezuela, claiming that the Maduro government is “part of the cartel.” [Media Matters, 9/5/25, 10/29/25, 11/24/25]

  • RIght-wing media praised the boat strikes and defended them as “totally legal”

    • Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy announced Trump “smoked another coke boat in the eastern Pacific this morning.” Campos-Duffy went on to dismiss concerns about the strike from Mexico, claiming Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party is “in bed with the cartels.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 11/10/25]
    • Fox host Sean Hannity: “I have a hard time understanding those that somehow think that there's any other way to stop them except to do exactly what we're showing on screen right now.” As Hannity spoke, a video montage played on screen of the boats being destroyed and left in flames. [Fox News, Hannity, 11/12/25]
    • Newsmax's Greg Kelly said U.S. strikes were “totally legal” and “pure,” arguing, “I think this is what you have a military for.” Kelly argued the strikes were “an awesome thing to do with the military. It is so pure — pure protection for the American people whose lives will be saved.”[Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 11/12/25]
    • Podcaster Dave Rubin celebrated that “we’re just blowing up the boats” instead of focusing on “paperwork,” calling it “an obvious win.” He said, “We don't sit around in a committee meeting going, oh my God, but do we have enough paperwork to make sure that the guys with the fentanyl who are coming over? No, we're just blowing up the boats.” [Rumble,The Rubin Report, 11/13/25]
    • Streamer Zack Hoyt, known online as Asmongold, commented that 20 strikes on alleged drug boats was “not enough.” As video of the strikes played on screen, he commented, “Got them.” [The Atlantic, 4/25/25; YouTube, Asmongold TV, 11/18/25]
    • Trump ally Roger Stone: “What Democrats are essentially saying is that Bush Obama and Biden can bomb or drone strike millions and it's not illegal but Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth cannot bomb drug traffickers in this hemisphere to protect the United States.” [Twitter/X, 11/30/25]
    • Former Fox Nation host Lara Logan: “If you don’t want to get bombed, don’t ship drugs in your fishing boat.” [Twitter/X, 11/30/25; Media Matters, 10/21/22]
    • Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani stated that he is “100% in favor” of “blowing their boats out of the water.” [YouTube, America’s Mayor Live, 11/12/25]

  • Some figures defended the administration after The Washington Post reported on the September follow-up strike

    • On Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade claimed the strikes were “probably precise” and that the follow-up strike “finished the job perhaps.” He added, “All I know is if you have a mission, to go out there and then get a boat in the area to rescue someone seems to be impossible especially if it's an unmanned drone who is doing the shooting.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 12/2/25]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones declared, “I really don’t care if they finished the job on them.” Jones argued that the targets of the strike “killed millions of American children with these drugs coming across the border.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 12/2/25]
    • Zack Hoyt praised the administration, saying, “I will vote for the government that will mercilessly kill drug dealers trying to take drugs into our country.” Complaining about pushback against the strikes, Hoyt added, “Then they’re like, ‘oh, well, this is a war crime, it’s against like the Geneva Convention,’ and all this bullshit. … International laws aren’t real.” [YouTube, AsmongoldTV, 11/29/25]
    • Fox host Johnny “Joey” Jones suggested the follow-up strike may have been justified because “whether you have a gun in your hand or not, if it’s a radio, that’s just as deadly.” Jones added, “Spare me the tears over terrorists when you don’t cry over Americans who die from them.” [Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, 11/29/25]
    • Right-wing influencer Ian Miles Cheong on the follow-up strike: “That's what you get for trafficking drugs.” [Twitter/X, 11/29/25]
    • Right-wing podcaster Megyn Kelly dismissed legal concerns and said she wants to see those killed “suffer,” calling on Trump and Hegseth to “make it last a long time, so that they lose a limb and bleed out a little.” “I’d really like to see them suffer,” she explained, adding, “I realize legally it may make a difference, but truly, Mark, this is a tough case to really gin up the sympathies of the American people.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 12/1/25]