Trump's efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico, acquire Canada, the Panama Canal and Greenland as well as pursuing military action against Venezuela have all been cited as part of a Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Additionally, Trump's "America First" agenda and skepticism of multilateralism has contributed to a view that the U.S. is focusing on its own hemisphere at the expense of traditional alliances, such as NATO.
Following U.S. strikes in Venezuela, Trump himself referred to "the Donroe Doctrine", stating that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again". While supporters see the doctrine as restoring American primacy and combatting the influence of China and Russia in the region, critics have suggested that it could set a precedent for illiberal regimes to violate the rule of law and pursue territorial expansion.[2]
Theodore Roosevelt's military expeditions in Latin America (Santo Domingo and Nicaragua) arguably extended the principle of the Monroe Doctrine to justifying intervention to prevent foreign powers from gaining influence in a U.S. zone of influence.[5]
Trump's first administration challenged the human rights record of the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan regimes.[6] In 2017, Trump stated that he was considering using military force in Venezuela during a period of civil unrest.[7] In 2018, Trump signed the Nicaragua Human Rights and Anticorruption Act of 2018, which imposed restrictions and sanctions on those responsible for civil rights infringements.[8] Also in 2018, Trump stated that the U.S. was committed to "maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers" in the Americas.[9]
In August 2019, Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark. In reaction, Greenland's foreign ministry declared that the territory was not for sale.[10] Citing Denmark's reluctance to discuss any purchase, days later Trump canceled a scheduled September trip to Copenhagen.[11] The Trump administration declared rare-earth minerals to be vital to national security. With Chinese companies investing in mining of Greenland's abundant resources, the U.S. signed in 2019 an agreement to fund an aerial survey of mineral resources in Gardar.[12]
The cover of the New York Post which has been widely credited as the origin of the term Donroe Doctrine.
On January 8, 2025, the tabloid New York Post published a front cover with the title "The Donroe Doctrine: Trump's vision for hemisphere".[13][14] It has been suggested that this was the origin of the portmanteau of Donald Trump and the Monroe Doctrine.[15][16]
The paper's front page showed an image of Trump pointing to a map in which Canada is crossed out and renamed "51st state", Greenland is labeled "our land", and the Panama Canal is labeled "Pana-MAGA".[17] The term did not immediately gain traction following publication of the Post cover but began to circulate more widely in the fall of 2025 with headlines in the Financial Times, The New York Times and other outlets. It was also cited on the Fox News and Fox & Friends several times. Donald Trump would go on to use the term himself following the raid in Venezuela in January 2026, saying "they now call it the 'Donroe Doctrine'", in what was viewed as an admission that he himself did not invent the term.[16]
Donald Trump has a complex relationship with the New York Post. His love has been described as "well known",[17] and he has previously acted as a source for stories, a consumer of the publication,[16] and appeared in the Page Six gossip column under his own name and as fake public relations agent John Baron.[17]
On January 7, 2026, the cover was shared by the House Foreign Affairs Committee social media account on X with a caption reading, "Our country was built by warriors and explorers. We tamed the West, won two World Wars, and were the first to plant our flag on the moon. President Trump has the biggest dreams for America and it's un-American to be afraid of big dreams" before later deleting the post.[18] A digitally modified version of the same cover was later re-uploaded. The cover said "The Trump Doctrine" and the post explained "President Trump’s America First vision is worthy of being called by its own doctrine."[18][19]
Trump's second presidency
Since his second inauguration, Trump's efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico, acquire Canada, the Panama Canal and Greenland and pursue military action against Venezuela have all been cited as part of the doctrine which seeks to establish U.S. dominance in the Americas, while countering the influence of other major powers.[20][21] While the original Monroe Doctrine sought to exclude European interference in the Americas, the Donroe Doctrine has been described as a similar attempt to exclude Chinese and Russian influence in the region.[21]
The administration's national security strategy, released in November 2025, explicitly references the Monroe Doctrine and asserts a "Trump Corollary" to the doctrine.[23][24] It stated the intention of the Trump administration to "reassert and enforce the Monroe doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere".[25]
Examples
The Donroe Doctrine has been used to described different instances in the second presidency of Donald Trump.
South America
President Nicolás Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima following his capture by U.S. forces. This incident has been widely cited as a manifestation of the Donroe Doctrine.
Trump has repeatedly praised Argentinian president Javier Milei, who was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after he won the 2024 U.S. election.[28] Milei came out in support of the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026.[29] The Trump administration's support for the Argentinian government, including financial assistance, has been cited as an example of the Donroe Doctrine in effect.[30]
In October of 2025, Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an "illegal drug dealer" and simultaneously cut off diplomatic aid to Colombia. Since that time, Trump has directed the United States military to strike alleged drug trafficking vessels along Colombia's coasts, while at the same time striking similar vessels along Venezuela's coast after claiming Maduro was a drug trafficker.[31][32]
Following Operation Absolute Resolve, Trump appeared to threaten Petro. When asked if he was considering a military strike in Colombia, he said, "It sounds good to me", and again described Petro as a drug trafficker.[33][34]
The Trump administration has made efforts to acquire Greenland as a strategically important area as far back as 2017.[40]JD Vance supported the idea of American ownership, traveling to Greenland in March 2025.[41]
Following the January 2026 raids in Venezuela, questions arose as to whether increasing focus on Greenland was also within the purview of Trump's goal, even by force. The renewed focus on Greenland followed a provocative tweet by Katie Miller, wife of senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, showing Greenland draped in the U.S. flag with the word "soon". This prompted journalists to question Trump directly, rapidly shifting the news agenda. Stephen Miller has openly framed Trump's foreign policy as one based on raw power, reinforcing concerns that the administration views an American superpower status as justification for coercive action.[42]White House press secretaryKaroline Leavitt said of acquiring Greenland, "utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option."[43][44]
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