January 7, 2026 • 7 mins
Florida Politics Publisher Peter Schorsch explains how the situation in Venezuela will impact Florida politics.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And let's go to the hotline and bring in the
publisher of Florida Politics, Peter Shorish. You can find all
of his work and all of his teams reporting at
Florida Politics dot com and Peter Florida Politics front and
center right at the start of twenty twenty six with
this situation in Venezuela, and I want to begin with
somebody we've mentioned over the past couple of days, but
(00:22):
someone who I think deserves a bit of a deeper
dive in this conversation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If
anybody had any questions about the power and influence he
wields within the Trump administration, I think those questions have
been answered. You're exactly right, and that Venezuela is about Cuba,
(00:43):
and Marco Rubio is about Cuba. And it's almost Oliver
Stoneish in a way that this all goes back to
Castro in Cuba, and you know, the son of exiles
recognizes that the only way you get the Cuba becomes
free or comes back into the American sphere of influence
(01:04):
is by taking out one of its legs, and that's Venezuela,
which props up so much of Cuba, and it isn't
it isn't a surprised that the security officers that were
with Maduro that were killed by American forces were supplied
by Cuba.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
And so these this, I don't know. I'm surprised we
haven't heard like some term like access of evil or
something like that to explain Cuba and Venezuela, et cetera.
But Rubio knows this. And you know, I've been reading
so much about how you know the president. You know,
you bring these people into an administration and their their concerns.
(01:42):
In the same way that Stephen Miller is kind of
obsessed with immigration, Rubio is obsessed with reasserting American dominance
in the Western hemisphere. And so I guess if you've
been following Rubio as long as I have, and I
remember I said in August of two thousand, it was
one of my rare but great predictions. I'm like, this
(02:03):
guy is going to beat Charlie crist And I remember
going to see him speak at the University of South Florida,
and this guy is going to pull it off. He
was way down in the polls, and it's just if
you've been following him, and if you know who surrounds him,
if you know who his friends are, if you read
him and what he's been talking about over the last
couple of years since he became a presidential candidate, none
(02:25):
of this really is surprising.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
You know, what we're seeing play out right now. It
feels like it's the exact reason Rubio re ingratiated himself
into Trump world in recent years to get a job
like this and do exactly what he wanted to do
in this region of the world.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, like, for all the I don't want to say,
you know, remember it's think back to twenty sixteen when
they're running against each other and they're you know, making
fun of each other's hands and other anatomical jokes about
each other, and all of the crow that Rubio had
to eaten. How different he has as a man than
than than Trump. This is what it's all about. You
(03:10):
know that. And you and I've said it before, We've
talked about it. Rubio has been right about Russia, has
been right about China. Rubio has been right about Iran.
You know, he he is a hawk, but he's been
more right than a lot of other people. All the
smart you know, neo cons, all the smart Republican foreign
(03:31):
policy experts. Rubio has been more right about more things,
I think than really any other major politician. And so yeah,
he's eaten a little bit of crow here. But when
you are basically I mean, how many times have I
said on your you know, your on your show, I've
called him basically the secretary of Latin America or we've
said something else like that, And there's all the memes
(03:53):
about him. Well here's his He's got like nine jobs,
you know, and now he's going to be president of
Venezuela and Greenland. I mean, it's like he is. He is,
you know, in an in an imperial presidency like Donald
Trump Donald Trump's is he is a viceroy. He is
like in the Roman sense of a proconsul going to
(04:16):
you know, manage some foreign land. I mean. And so
when it's this kind of you know, imperial presidency, it
doesn't hurt to be the right hand man of the emperor.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
We're joined now by the publisher of Florida Politics, Peter Shorsch.
So while Marco Rubio is at the height of his
political power, let's talk about Governor Ron DeSantis, because it
took him a while to comment on what happened in Venezuela.
Then he eventually does, but never mentions Trump's name. And
(04:48):
now we're hearing this talk of bringing state charges against
Nicholas Maduro, and I guess that would be fine, But
this is a federal issue. This is a Trump administration
production going on here. We've seen this before where DeSantis
has a way of interjecting himself and the state into
these big national and international issues and making some headlines.
(05:12):
What have you made of the governor's response to all
things Venezuela. Well, we'll take a step back.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And it was a question I kept raising over the weekend,
which is where was Ron DeSantis on this? I mean,
this guy is a guy that will give you, you know,
his thoughts on the Baseball Hall of Fame and college
football and artificial intelligence. And then we have the biggest
foreign policy story of basically non Ukraine related of the
(05:38):
second Trump term and he's inexplicably quiet. We still don't
know why he took so long to comment on it,
especially when you consider, like, okay, maybe the governor of
the state shouldn't comment on foreign policy stuff. Now, Florida's
home to the largest Venezuelan diaspora. Durau outside of Miami
(05:59):
is durauves, you know, so it is relevant to a
big part of his constituents. So I found that odd.
People told me, you know what, he's basically he's doing
everything counter whatever JD. Vans is doing. And so if
you look at Ai, he's countered that. Now in Venezuela,
he's holding back. He's gonna see which way the wind
blows on that. Then you fast forward and you get
(06:20):
into the stuff where he's talking about congressional stocks and
he's gonna like bring state charges against Maduro. And I
remembered what day it was when he started rolling this out,
and it was January sixth. I'm not talking about the anniversary.
I'm talking about a year from January sixth. Rondasantis has
less than now has less than one year left in office,
(06:41):
and so the official countdown clock has begun. He is
at three hundred and sixty four days. Three hundred and
sixty three is three hundred and sixty two days left
in office. And I think he's starting as the world
has moved on from him. I think he's starting to feel.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
That a lot. Last question for you, you real quick,
will this situation in Venezuela have an impact on the
midterms here in Florida. I still think the Republicans are
so strong that I don't I don't think it'll be
the big issue. I still think post health insurance premiums
that people are going to be staring down over the
next week or so are probably going to be your
(07:18):
biggest issue come November. The publisher of Florida Politics, Peter
shorsh with us each week. You can find all of
his work and all of his teams reporting, and sign
up for the Sunburn newsletter so you get scoops right
in your inbox first thing every morning at Florida Politics
dot com. Peter, great to talk to you. We will
catch up with you again next week. All right.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Thanks for having me on Ryan The Ryan Gorman Show
on NewsRadio WFLA.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Ryan Gorman Show,
and find us online at Ryangormanshow dot com.
And let's go to the hotline and bring in the
publisher of Florida Politics, Peter Shorish. You can find all
of his work and all of his teams reporting at
Florida Politics dot com and Peter Florida Politics front and
center right at the start of twenty twenty six with
this situation in Venezuela, and I want to begin with
somebody we've mentioned over the past couple of days, but
(00:22):
someone who I think deserves a bit of a deeper
dive in this conversation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If
anybody had any questions about the power and influence he
wields within the Trump administration, I think those questions have
been answered. You're exactly right, and that Venezuela is about Cuba,
(00:43):
and Marco Rubio is about Cuba. And it's almost Oliver
Stoneish in a way that this all goes back to
Castro in Cuba, and you know, the son of exiles
recognizes that the only way you get the Cuba becomes
free or comes back into the American sphere of influence
(01:04):
is by taking out one of its legs, and that's Venezuela,
which props up so much of Cuba, and it isn't
it isn't a surprised that the security officers that were
with Maduro that were killed by American forces were supplied
by Cuba.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
And so these this, I don't know. I'm surprised we
haven't heard like some term like access of evil or
something like that to explain Cuba and Venezuela, et cetera.
But Rubio knows this. And you know, I've been reading
so much about how you know the president. You know,
you bring these people into an administration and their their concerns.
(01:42):
In the same way that Stephen Miller is kind of
obsessed with immigration, Rubio is obsessed with reasserting American dominance
in the Western hemisphere. And so I guess if you've
been following Rubio as long as I have, and I
remember I said in August of two thousand, it was
one of my rare but great predictions. I'm like, this
(02:03):
guy is going to beat Charlie crist And I remember
going to see him speak at the University of South Florida,
and this guy is going to pull it off. He
was way down in the polls, and it's just if
you've been following him, and if you know who surrounds him,
if you know who his friends are, if you read
him and what he's been talking about over the last
couple of years since he became a presidential candidate, none
(02:25):
of this really is surprising.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
You know, what we're seeing play out right now. It
feels like it's the exact reason Rubio re ingratiated himself
into Trump world in recent years to get a job
like this and do exactly what he wanted to do
in this region of the world.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, like, for all the I don't want to say,
you know, remember it's think back to twenty sixteen when
they're running against each other and they're you know, making
fun of each other's hands and other anatomical jokes about
each other, and all of the crow that Rubio had
to eaten. How different he has as a man than
than than Trump. This is what it's all about. You
(03:10):
know that. And you and I've said it before, We've
talked about it. Rubio has been right about Russia, has
been right about China. Rubio has been right about Iran.
You know, he he is a hawk, but he's been
more right than a lot of other people. All the
smart you know, neo cons, all the smart Republican foreign
(03:31):
policy experts. Rubio has been more right about more things,
I think than really any other major politician. And so yeah,
he's eaten a little bit of crow here. But when
you are basically I mean, how many times have I
said on your you know, your on your show, I've
called him basically the secretary of Latin America or we've
said something else like that, And there's all the memes
(03:53):
about him. Well here's his He's got like nine jobs,
you know, and now he's going to be president of
Venezuela and Greenland. I mean, it's like he is. He is,
you know, in an in an imperial presidency like Donald
Trump Donald Trump's is he is a viceroy. He is
like in the Roman sense of a proconsul going to
(04:16):
you know, manage some foreign land. I mean. And so
when it's this kind of you know, imperial presidency, it
doesn't hurt to be the right hand man of the emperor.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
We're joined now by the publisher of Florida Politics, Peter Shorsch.
So while Marco Rubio is at the height of his
political power, let's talk about Governor Ron DeSantis, because it
took him a while to comment on what happened in Venezuela.
Then he eventually does, but never mentions Trump's name. And
(04:48):
now we're hearing this talk of bringing state charges against
Nicholas Maduro, and I guess that would be fine, But
this is a federal issue. This is a Trump administration
production going on here. We've seen this before where DeSantis
has a way of interjecting himself and the state into
these big national and international issues and making some headlines.
(05:12):
What have you made of the governor's response to all
things Venezuela. Well, we'll take a step back.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And it was a question I kept raising over the weekend,
which is where was Ron DeSantis on this? I mean,
this guy is a guy that will give you, you know,
his thoughts on the Baseball Hall of Fame and college
football and artificial intelligence. And then we have the biggest
foreign policy story of basically non Ukraine related of the
(05:38):
second Trump term and he's inexplicably quiet. We still don't
know why he took so long to comment on it,
especially when you consider, like, okay, maybe the governor of
the state shouldn't comment on foreign policy stuff. Now, Florida's
home to the largest Venezuelan diaspora. Durau outside of Miami
(05:59):
is durauves, you know, so it is relevant to a
big part of his constituents. So I found that odd.
People told me, you know what, he's basically he's doing
everything counter whatever JD. Vans is doing. And so if
you look at Ai, he's countered that. Now in Venezuela,
he's holding back. He's gonna see which way the wind
blows on that. Then you fast forward and you get
(06:20):
into the stuff where he's talking about congressional stocks and
he's gonna like bring state charges against Maduro. And I
remembered what day it was when he started rolling this out,
and it was January sixth. I'm not talking about the anniversary.
I'm talking about a year from January sixth. Rondasantis has
less than now has less than one year left in office,
(06:41):
and so the official countdown clock has begun. He is
at three hundred and sixty four days. Three hundred and
sixty three is three hundred and sixty two days left
in office. And I think he's starting as the world
has moved on from him. I think he's starting to feel.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
That a lot. Last question for you, you real quick,
will this situation in Venezuela have an impact on the
midterms here in Florida. I still think the Republicans are
so strong that I don't I don't think it'll be
the big issue. I still think post health insurance premiums
that people are going to be staring down over the
next week or so are probably going to be your
(07:18):
biggest issue come November. The publisher of Florida Politics, Peter
shorsh with us each week. You can find all of
his work and all of his teams reporting, and sign
up for the Sunburn newsletter so you get scoops right
in your inbox first thing every morning at Florida Politics
dot com. Peter, great to talk to you. We will
catch up with you again next week. All right.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Thanks for having me on Ryan The Ryan Gorman Show
on NewsRadio WFLA.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Ryan Gorman Show,
and find us online at Ryangormanshow dot com.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.