In a strategic move to curb China’s growing influence in North America, former President Donald Trump is reportedly setting his sights on Canada, according to insights from Steve Bannon, Trump’s former campaign advisor. This initiative appears to be an extension of what Bannon dubs the ‘Donroe Doctrine,’ initially aimed at Latin America.
“Canada might soon find itself in a situation akin to Ukraine,” Bannon stated, emphasizing Canada’s vulnerability to Chinese advances in the Arctic region. “Canada is ill-prepared to defend its northern frontiers, and Trump is poised to take decisive action to support them,” he added.
Trump’s interest in the Arctic was notably piqued during his first term, leading to the establishment of a working group on Arctic affairs. This initiative enhanced his awareness of Greenland’s strategic value and spotlighted concerns regarding Canada’s defenses in the Arctic.
Concerns about China’s ambitions in the Arctic are not new for Trump, particularly after Beijing’s 2018 declaration of itself as a ‘near-Arctic state,’ according to former White House insiders.
The growing rapport between Canada and China is also causing ripples, potentially straining Canada’s longstanding ties with the United States.
A recent visit by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to China, his first in almost ten years, raised eyebrows in the U.S. Carney’s remarks referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping and China as “strategic partners” have heightened American apprehensions.
‘I believe the progress we have made and the partnership sets us up well for the new world order,’ Carney said.
Carney also sided with the Danish and NATO allies over President Trump’s interest in abstaining Greenland, asserting to reporters that President Xi ‘found much alignment of views’ in respect to American interests on the island.
President Donald Trump is watching Canada closely for any Chinese incursion on the Arctic
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with President of China Xi Jinping in China for the first time in nearly a decade
Carney’s comments certainly raised concerns in the Trump administration as the president remains famously suspicious of foreign activity in the Western hemisphere.
The president signaled newly resurfaced desire to acquire Greenland has more to do with keeping Russia and China out of the strategically important region.
After the unprecedented operation in Venezuela led to the capture and arrest of Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro, the world is taking Trump’s appreciation for the Monroe Doctrine seriously.
‘The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe doctrine,’ the president said to reporters in the press conference after the mission was completed.
The 200-year-old Monroe doctrine was expressed by President James Monroe together with his Secretary of War John C. Calhoun and his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams who worked to reaffirm America’s position in the Western hemisphere.
‘It was very important, but we forgot about it. We don’t forget about it anymore,’ Trump told reporters after the mission in Venezuela. ‘Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.’
The ‘Donroe Doctrine’ extends that ideal to jealously defend the entire Western hemisphere from against the encroaching influence from Russia and China.
During his press conference Trump even articulated the ‘Trump Corollary’ of the Monroe Doctrine, putting himself in a same category of Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote his own corollary in 1905 that emphasized the importance of United States preserving order in the Western hemisphere.
Although some foreign policy experts were surprised to see the president refer to the historic roots for his vision, some recognized the rhetoric outlined in the White House National Security Strategy that was published in November
The 33-page document details the ‘Trump corollary’ as a common-sense decision to deny ‘non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening abilities’ in the same hemisphere as the United States.
The text outlines the president’s expectation for leaders in the Western hemisphere to view the United States as their first partner, but subtly noted that ‘we will (through various means) discourage their collaboration with others.
The Venezuela mission gave the world a first look at the ‘various means’ the United States is willing to deploy to get a more favorable climate for American interests.
President Donald Trump is working to convince American oil companies to return to Venezuela
President Donald Trump shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping after meeting Gimhae International Airport in Busan in October
China has also invested heavily into Latin America including energy companies in Brazil and Chile. Under the direction of Donald Trump, the United States continues to restrict oil exports from Venezuela – the majority of which was purchased by China.
While Rosevelt famously proclaimed he would ‘tread softly and carry a big stick,’ Trump almost has an opposite approach.
‘Trump’s kind of more like float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,’ said Clint Brown, an investor at Harpoon Ventures and former director of the Senate Steering Committee. ‘You’re going to see me and when you cross me, I’m going to sting you real quick.’
Experts noted that the document reflected the work of Michael Anton, the state department’s former director of policy planning staff and Arthur Milikh Principal Deputy Director at the State Department, as well as White House Senior Policy Advisor Kara Frederick.
Others recognized the rhetoric of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
‘Miller’s been with the president since the very beginning, I think that counts for a lot in terms of loyalty and proximity,’ James Wallner, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.
Wallner, a former legislative director for Sen. Jeff Sessions, worked with Stephen Miller on Capitol Hill.
While Miller had long-held foreign policy views, he explained, some of Trump’s positions were unique and have been formative to his entire administration.
Trump has assumed Reagan’s motto of ‘Peace Through Strength,’ together with an aggressive use of the swift lethal power of the American military and other means to enact his vision for the Western Hemisphere.
‘Trump is very much his own president, he’s also a larger than life force with his own goals,’ Wallner said.
Trump’s vision of the Western hemisphere has earned him wide praise from Republicans in the Senate, who welcome his focus on American interests in foreign policy.
‘With the ‘Donroe Doctrine,’ President Trump is reviving a principle that has been foundational to America’s foreign policy for nearly our entire history, except for the last 30 years: the United States has both the right and the duty to secure our own hemisphere,’ Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri told the Daily Mail. ‘Under President Trump, America is acting like the superpower we are—no longer apologizing for enforcing policies that make our country safer, stronger, and more prosperous.’
