MASSIVE Power Grab Rocks International Order

Waving American flag against a clear blue sky

America is dusting off a 200-year-old doctrine and weaponizing it to reshape both the Western Hemisphere and its own internal order in ways that would make Theodore Roosevelt blush.

Story Highlights

Trump’s November 2025 National Security Strategy formally revives the Monroe Doctrine with a new “Trump Corollary” asserting U.S. control over the Western Hemisphere
The doctrine combines external hemispheric dominance with domestic “nation-building at home” through nationalism and protectionism
Media dubbed it the “Donroe Doctrine” featuring Canada as the “51st state” and Greenland as “our land”
Policy aims to counter Chinese and Russian influence while securing energy and mineral resources across the Americas

The Doctrine That Wouldn’t Die Gets a MAGA Makeover

The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 was supposed to keep European powers out of the Americas. Two centuries later, Trump’s team has turbocharged this forgotten relic into something far more ambitious. The November 2025 National Security Strategy doesn’t just resurrect the Monroe Doctrine—it declares the Western Hemisphere must be controlled by the United States “politically, economically, commercially, and militarily.” This isn’t your grandfather’s foreign policy.

The Trump Corollary represents a fundamental shift from decades of globalist thinking. Instead of nation-building in Iraq or Afghanistan, this administration wants to rebuild America itself while simultaneously asserting dominance over its own backyard. Think of it as America First with hemispheric characteristics, backed by the threat of superior military force.

From Manifest Destiny to MAGA Destiny

Historical precedent runs deep here. The original Monroe Doctrine evolved through the Roosevelt Corollary of 1904, which claimed U.S. “international police power” throughout the hemisphere. That doctrine justified countless interventions across Latin America for over a century. What makes the Trump version different is its explicit fusion of external control with internal reconstruction—using hemispheric leverage to fund domestic priorities.

The New York Post captured this perfectly with their “Donroe Doctrine” front page, complete with a map showing Canada as the “51st state” and Panama Canal labeled “Pana-MAGA.” The House Foreign Affairs Committee even amplified this imagery on social media before quietly deleting it—revealing both enthusiasm and nervous awareness of the doctrine’s imperial implications.

Resource Grab Meets Border Control

The Trump Corollary isn’t just about geopolitical prestige. It’s about controlling critical resources and migration flows that directly impact American prosperity and security. The strategy commits to increasing naval forces across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, ostensibly for counter-narcotics and migration control, but clearly positioned to secure energy and mineral access.

Venezuela serves as the first major test case. With the world’s largest proven oil reserves and growing ties to Russia and China, Venezuela represents everything the Trump Corollary aims to address. The administration views Chinese infrastructure projects and Russian military cooperation in Latin America as direct challenges requiring forceful American response, regardless of what Latin American governments prefer.

The Risks of Playing Hemisphere Police

History suggests this approach carries serious dangers. Previous applications of Monroe Doctrine logic produced decades of anti-American sentiment, coups, insurgencies, and political instability across Latin America. Many regional governments already view the Trump Corollary as a return to hegemonic interference, potentially driving them further toward Chinese and Russian partnerships as a counterbalance to American pressure.

The doctrine’s “disordered” implementation, as Chatham House analysts describe it, lacks clear sequencing and risk assessment. Combining aggressive external assertions with internal political reconstruction creates multiple fronts for potential failure. Success requires simultaneously dominating a hemisphere while rebuilding domestic institutions—a challenge that would test any administration’s capabilities and focus.