(New York) Reading from a text, Donald Trump on Saturday listed the reasons justifying, according to him, the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the provisional takeover of Venezuela by the United States.
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In short: the deposed president and his cronies are drug lords. They emptied Venezuela’s prisons and psychiatric hospitals to send criminals and deranged people to the United States. Their country carried out one of the largest asset thefts in U.S. history by expropriating the oil assets of several American companies. And it is harboring a growing number of foreign adversaries while acquiring offensive weapons that could endanger U.S. interests.
“All of these actions constituted serious violations of the fundamental principles of American foreign policy, which date back to the Monroe Doctrine more than two centuries ago,” the American president declared during his press conference at Mar-a-Lago.
Then, stepping out of his text for a moment, he added: “The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’re way past it – really. It is now called the Donroe Document. »
Donald Trump actually wanted to talk about the “Donroe doctrine”, an expression that first appeared on the front page of New York Post on January 8, 2025.
Trump’s vision
That day, Donald Trump’s favorite tabloid published this play on words on its front page accompanied by a map illustrating Trump’s “vision for the Western Hemisphere”. The name of Canada was replaced by “51e State”, that of the Gulf of Mexico by “Gulf of America”, that of Greenland by “Our Land” and that of the Panama Canal by “Pana-MAGA Canal”.
Barely two weeks ago, the tenant of the White House renewed his expansionist aims regarding Greenland. And now he cites the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” to justify a military operation in Venezuela that is likely to worry all countries in the hemisphere.
This doctrine, stated in 1823 by President James Monroe, called in particular on European countries to respect the Americas as a sphere of American influence.
Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never again be questioned.
Donald Trump
Message received. But how will the Americans react to the “Donroe Doctrine” in action? And what will followers of the MAGA movement think about a military operation that appears to violate the principles of “America First”?
No revolt among the MAGA
Voices associated with the MAGA movement have already expressed their opposition to this operation.
“This is what many MAGA supporters thought they had ended by voting (for Donald Trump),” lamented Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in a lengthy message on X. “We were sorely mistaken. »
Influencer Candace Owens was even more biting. “Venezuela was “liberated” as were Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The CIA has orchestrated yet another hostile takeover in a foreign country, at the behest of globalist psychopaths,” she wrote on X.
But these voices are in the minority for the moment. Operation “Absolute Resolve” did not provoke within the MAGA movement the outcry observed before and after the American strikes in Iran.
As proof, Steve Bannon praised “a bold and brilliant attack”. Conservative commentator Sohrab Ahmari explains the difference in reactions by the geographic proximity between the United States and Venezuela.
Added to this, according to him, are the specific issues linked to Venezuela, such as illegal immigration and drug trafficking, which affect Americans closely.
That said, some MAGA supporters are asking for more.
“Soon,” wrote Katie Miller, wife of presidential adviser Stephen Miller, in a message published on X and accompanied by a map showing Greenland in the colors of the American flag.
“It’s madness”
The reaction of Americans as a whole is likely to be much less enthusiastic than that of Katie Miller. Before Nicolás Maduro’s capture, a US military intervention in Venezuela was even less popular with voters than Donald Trump’s tariffs or health care cuts, according to polls.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who is running for a Senate seat, expressed a view Saturday that could become that of many Americans if Donald Trump’s planned transition requires sending ground troops to Venezuela.
“Will someone finally stop for a moment and be honest?” This is madness. What are we doing? We have a lot of problems in the United States today, and invading, occupying or ruling Venezuela will not solve any of them,” he fumed on CNN.
In the short term, Donald Trump could certainly benefit from a certain boost in popularity following Saturday’s military operation in Venezuela. But the doctrine to which he proudly attached his first name could end up dangerously distancing him from the concerns of American voters, if it has not already done so.
