Commentary
We’re beginning to see the articulation of the Trump Doctrine for the second term. First and foremost, in the Trump Doctrine is putting the U.S. Citizen first. Closely following and aligned with the American Citizen is a secure border, fair trade, deterring Chinese malign activities, and no involvement in endless wars. Three countries have received special attention so far by President Trump. All of them are close by to America, right in our front yard. They are Panama, Greenland, and Canada.
Putting America first also means taking care of things right in our immediate neighborhood and U.S. diplomacy, tradecraft, and interaction have been very passive at best in our neighborhood, and especially for Panama, almost non-existent. Non-existent to the point of being isolationist – exactly what the elites attempt to project onto Trump.
Dr. James Carafano at the Heritage Foundation has talked about an updated Monroe Doctrine during a Trump Second Term: “a new Monroe Doctrine in practice would comprise partnerships between the U.S. and like-minded nations in the region that share common goals, such as mitigating the influence of Russia, China and Iran, and stemming irregular migration. These goals would also reject the Sao Paulo Forum agenda (a confab for left leaning leaders in the Americas) and foster traditional values with regards to life, family, gender, religion and cultural issues.” A new Trump Doctrine would focus not on military intervention but working closely on trade and commerce with like-minded populist leaders in our own hemisphere.
Panama
The current President of Panama is a center-right Populist José Raúl Mulino who was elected in May 2024. His number one priority in his own statements is to make the Panama Canal successful and viable – which was threatened by historic lows in rainfall and brought traffic down to 18 ships a day, which could not be fully loaded. Mulino needs more reservoir space to ensure water levels can support 50 or more, fully loaded, ships a day. China is on one hand proffering infrastructure projects to Panama, but at the same time is playing with alternatives to the Panama Canal across Mexico, Nicaragua, and Colombia. Evan Ellis, a Latin America research professor at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania says China is playing the countries against each other.
In the Conditions section of the “Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal” there is a specified role for the US in ensuring the operations and security of the Panama Canal. The most decisive way for America to ensure operations of the Canal is for the new Ambassadorial nominee Marino Cabrera to build a close relationship with President Mulino and ensure that the Government of Panama and the Panama Canal Authority receives whatever they need from the United States for the Panama Canal to be the global model of efficiency.
Greenland
When Greenland is brought up, most point to Denmark and says Greenland is their territory. Greenland became self-governing and an autonomous region of Denmark in 2009. On the Greenland website it says, “In Greenland’s Self-Government Act enacted by Denmark and Greenland in 2009, the Greenlanders are recognised as a people or nation entitled to the right of self-determination, with the option of independence. While it is recognised that most Greenlanders favour independence, opinions and strategies of how to reach this status are many”
One of the drivers of President Elect Trump’s interest in Greenland started because of the aggressive Chinese influence operations into the large Arctic country with only 58,000 citizens, primarily Inuit. Like Panama, Greenland was courted by Chines Belt and Road debt trap offerings. But whether Greenland wants to stay the way it is or would like to join the Union is up to them. Would Greenland come into the Union as a Territory? A State? Unclear – but if the people of Greenland are interested, President Trump knows how to make the Greenlanders a win win deal.
Canada
There is often an aspect of trolling in President Elect Trump’s comments, but it is even more so with Canada. Prime Minister Trudeau is the poster child for Socialist Tyrants who weaponize the Government against their citizens. Canadians are now turning on him. Trudeau is also one of the worst offenders of the Partnership litmus test with President Trump. The Trump Standard used to be 2% of Gross Domestic Product for defense spend, but Trump has now made it 5%. Canada is one of the worst offenders at only 1.4% of GDP for Defense spend, which has starved their proud military into an emaciated state.
Starting with Dr. Jordan Peterson, there are many Canadians who are open minded to immigrating to America or perhaps even aligning with America. Much of what is emanating from President Trump seems intended to hasten the departure of the Trudeau regime.
The Trump Doctrine for the Americas is simple, we will be a great neighbor
After years of behaving as an isolationist nation to our neighbors, the Trump Doctrine is simple – we will secure our borders but be the best neighbors and trade partners. Another close neighbor that is finally getting some attention is the Bahamas, 90 miles to the right of Miami where China has been overwhelming the government with the mirage of Belt and Road largesse. Herschel Walker as the new U.S. Ambassador will ensure that the Bahamas receive first class friendship from the U.S. after decades of indifference and only an occasional Ambassador.
While we’re at it, if the 24 million, dual language (English/Mandarin) citizens of Taiwan are not going to be allowed into the United Nations because of China’s corruption and intimidation of United Nations member countries, we should make it clear that Taiwan is welcome to join the Union also, if they are interested. Taiwan is also a neighbor – just to the left of Guam, an American Territory. The real Trump Doctrine is showing our immediate neighbors that we are interested in fair trade and capable of offering alternatives to Chinese Belt and Road debt traps that fail to deliver on their promises.
All viewpoints are personal and do not reflect the viewpoints of any organization.
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