I don't think we're gonna ask for a declaration of war we're just gonna kill people quote
Executive summary
The line "I don't think we're gonna necessarily ask for a declaration of war, I think we're just going to kill people..." is reported as a verbatim remark attributed to President Donald Trump during October 2025 remarks about strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, and was picked up by national outlets including Forbes and People [1] [2]. That reporting situates the sentence in a mix of real-world military action — several strikes the administration said targeted suspected drug boats — and a broader rhetorical pattern in politics and popular culture where blunt threats echo cinematic and populist language [1] [3] [4].
1. Who said it and when — the immediate reporting
Multiple mainstream outlets published versions of the quote after a White House exchange on Oct. 23, 2025: Forbes quotes President Trump saying he would not necessarily seek a congressional declaration of war and that “we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country,” while People reported the president saying “just going to kill people” in the same context as administration strikes at sea [1] [2]. Both pieces also placed the remark alongside contemporaneous U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that the administration had authorized against vessels it described as trafficking drugs [1] [2].
2. What reporters documented about actions and claims
Forbes and People tied the remark to at least nine U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats since September 2025, reporting that those strikes killed dozens and left few survivors, and they quoted the president framing more operations as “going to be next” while disputing some public reporting about bomber deployments [1] [2]. Forbes also reported administration plans to send Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to brief Congress on ongoing operations, reflecting a public posture that the White House would both act militarily and communicate afterward [1].
3. How this phrase fits a broader rhetorical pattern
The blunt, violent phrasing echoes a long tradition of “I’ll kill you” or “we’re gonna kill them” lines in movies and political rhetoric — from memorable action-movie exchanges in Die Hard and Apocalypse Now to recurring stock phrases catalogued by cultural sites like TV Tropes and quote anthologies [3] [5] [6]. Political figures have also used similarly stark language in recent years, as when North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson declared “some folks need killing,” a line documented in press reporting and political opposition ads [4] [7] [8].
4. Interpretations and competing framings in the reporting
News reports present two overlapping frames: one literal — the president describing ongoing kinetic operations and casualties at sea — and one rhetorical — a confrontational posture that dismisses the normal congressional war-declaration process [1] [2]. Forbes’ reporting highlights the administration’s operational claims and its plan to brief Congress, which the White House framed as post-facto explanation rather than prior authorization [1]. Critics and opponents, while noted in related political coverage of violent rhetoric, are not fully quoted in the specific articles supplied here, so full accounting of dissenting legal or ethical critiques is limited by the available excerpts [1] [2].
5. What the reporting does not show and limits on attribution
The provided sources report the quote and contextual military actions but do not include a complete transcript, audio clip, or the full spectrum of congressional or legal responses, so precise intent, legal justification under domestic or international law, and any internal deliberations are not documented in these items [1] [2]. Similarly, while parallels to cinematic or political uses of violent language are observable across the supplied cultural and political sources, attributing motive or estimating policy consequences beyond what reporters recorded would exceed the available evidence [3] [6] [4].