The Trump Corollary

Though it has not done so explicitly, the second Trump administration has put a premium on rebuilding and expanding the Monroe Doctrine. Actions taken to uphold the doctrine have included strikes on Venezuelan drug runners, economic support for Argentina, and even expansionist musings in Greenland and elsewhere.

These activities have been slandered as betrayals of President Donald Trump’s America First philosophy. The Economist compared Trump’s threats to Venezuela with the war on terror, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said Trump’s aid to Argentina was “a punch in the gut.”

But an examination of the Trump administration’s major moves reveals something quite different: a vigorous expansion of the Monroe Doctrine – to include a protection of both oceans, in particular the Atlantic – that is simultaneously in line with an America First agenda and a departure from decades of liberal internationalist intervention.

Read more at The Defense Analyses and Research Corporation.