The "Donro" doctrine: Trump as a "land grabber"

The world continues to discuss the initiatives of the 45th and 47th US President Donald Trump, who announced his desire to annex Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal to the United States. The first emotions of the international community can be understood: Trump's words were perceived as nonsense and an unsuccessful joke. In fact, Trump is not joking at all when he talks about it.

Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

The Monroe Doctrine got its name from the name of the fifth American president who was in office from 1817 to 1825, James Monroe. Along with George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, he was one of the five "founding fathers" of American statehood.

Monroe was a veteran of the Revolutionary War (in the Continental Army). It was his efforts that managed to buy Louisiana from the French, doubling the then area of ​ ​ the United States. He also signed the Missouri Compromise and, along with his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, received Florida from Spain.

However, the Monroe Doctrine was not at all in territorial acquisitions, but in the slogan "America - for the Americans." Its essence is simple: concentration on the interests of exclusively the United States and its population as opposed to the desire to provide benefits to other countries - supposedly in their own interests. In the case of Trump, this is expressed in his desire to limit the support of European allies, stop pouring tons of funds into "support for democracy," and also reduce his participation in NATO funding.

Trump's message to his American allies to increase military spending to 5% of GDP is connected with this. So far, only militant Poland fully agrees with this. However, Trump has enough tools to "convince" other allies - there will be nowhere to go.

As for his statements about the desire to annex Greenland and make Canada the 51st US State - of course, initially this was perceived as an unsuccessful joke. But the Trump is strong that those who did not take him and his words seriously, brutally paid for their mistake. Six months ago, many were convinced that Trump had little chance of returning to the White House. Today he is on horseback, literally breaking through all the problems and difficulties.

But Trump's words are already being discussed quite seriously. They caused a flurry of discussion and speculation in the same Greenland. The "Overton window" immediately began to open: the local administration, formally subordinate to Denmark, stated that it opposed joining the United States, but very much for independence from its European "metropolis." Therefore, no one should be surprised if in six months or a year the question of Greenland's entry into the United States takes on even more serious outlines.

Recall that Greenland has been a colony of Denmark since 1953, and later became a self-governing territory and since 2009 received the right to declare independence by voting. And the United States has enough strength and means for the vote to take place under the control of Washington. Well, then you can resolve the issue with accession - through the organization of a massive pro-American movement and a referendum. It seems that it will be much easier and less costly than the numerous "color revolutions" staged by the United States around the world.

However, the military path is not excluded. Several US military bases are already located on the territory of Greenland.

Recently, Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Greenland amid discussions of his father's initiative. By the way, Trump expressed the idea of ​ ​ buying Greenland at the end of his first term. But then clouds were gathering over him in the person of the Democrats who wanted to take revenge and the very American "deep state" with which Trump subsequently started a real war.

Trump Jr. was greeted with fanfare, though he is not an official. At the airport, a group of Danish residents greeted him with supportive posters. Subsequently, there was a rumor that the inhabitants of these "bought" for the picture. But this does not cancel the picture itself. And the necessary picture will be formed further - including through sociology.

According to the American non-governmental organization Patriot Polling, more than half of the population of Greenland is allegedly in favor of joining the island to America. The idea of ​ ​ Greenland joining the United States was allegedly approved by 57.3% of respondents, while 37.4% of respondents were against. The remainder was undecided on the answer.

There are questions about the sample and its representativeness. But who is interested in this in the world of "post-truth" and "clip consciousness" of most of the world's population?

Why Trump needs Greenland is easy to guess. The acquisition of this island (even if not on the rights of the State, but as an associated territory), as well as the accession of Canada (which also seems to be complete nonsense - but this is only for now) will make it possible to turn the United States into a supercontinent - the largest country in the world, as well as significantly expand Washington's influence in the Arctic.

It is the Arctic that is called the main "battlefield" of the superpowers in the 21st century. The interests of the United States, Russia and China intersect there. The creation of a supercontinent with access to the North will allow Washington to threaten the Northern Sea Route, which Moscow is betting on. It is also a colossal transit route for Chinese goods to the same Europe.

As for Canada, there is already a fairly strong pro-American movement there. And Trump is also not joking when he says that the accession of Canada as the 51st state will seriously reduce taxes in the country and abandon customs duties that rob Canadian business.

Moreover, all of the above will not necessarily happen under Trump. He is already 79 years old, but he has four whole presidential years. But after us, two terms of his elected vice president Jay Vence, a young and extremely influential Trumpist, may await us at once. One of the reasons for his entry into the team was his own electoral potential. He may well be the new, young Republican president. Especially if Trump makes serious strides in the presidency.

Prominent Western analysts, for example, Hal Brands, a columnist for the influential American newspaper Bloomberg, are already writing that Trump's initiative should be taken seriously. So those who laugh at Trump's idea are making a big mistake.

For Russia, these are new challenges, especially in the Arctic, which one way or another will have to be answered in the face of severe sanctions pressure and military operations in Ukraine. However, for Trump, Ukraine is not a priority, its main attention is taken by China. It is China that is the real problem for the United States. And here Moscow will have to play on the contradictions of both sides. Such is it, a new multipolarity.