'We're the bad guys': Elie Mystal says sanctions should be imposed on the US for being 'a menace to free people everywhere'

Elie Mystal, a progressive justice correspondent at The Nation, urged global leaders on Wednesday to impose sanctions on the United States, referring to the country as "the bad guys on the world stage."

Mystal made the remarks during an appearance on former MSNBC news host Joy Reid's podcast, The Joy Reid Show, where he expressed frustrations with what he perceives as the US having unchecked power, resulting in destabilizing international peace.

"Our country needs to be sanctioned. We are the bad guys on the world stage," he said. "We are a menace not only to free people everywhere, but we are a menace to peaceful people everywhere at this point." Mystal suggested that foreign leaders must take a stand against the United States, claiming that economic sanctions and a global reprimand are required to curb its actions and that the international community needs to decide that "enough is enough."

"We should be sanctioned and rebuked," Mystal emphasized.

The progressive justice correspondent's criticism was not limited to recent events. Mystal pointed to a pattern of US behavior, stating, "I'm not even gonna say that we've only been a menace for the past three or four months."

Furthermore, he suggested that standing up to America would be difficult for other nations due to its economic leverage. "I know we've got a lot of money. I know that people want to buy things from our country because we're rich, or want to sell things to our country because we are rich. But at some point, the international community has to stand up to us," he said.

His remarks garnered a wide variety of reactions, with progressives supporting the call for sanctions and conservatives condemning his statements as unpatriotic and inflammatory.