Trump’s INSANE Plan to Rule the Western Hemisphere

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on the "Donro Doctrine," a concept reflecting Trump's assertion of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, which is exemplified through his remarks on potential military interventions in countries like Venezuela, Colombia, and Cuba. The dialogue highlights Trump's foreign policy stance, emphasizing military action to protect U.S. interests and counter adversaries in the region, and contrasts this with the historical Monroe Doctrine.

Key takeaways

• The Donro doctrine: Trump's vision of the Americas as his personal playground raises eyebrows over sovereignty.
• Miller's assertion of American imperialism reflects a stark departure from post-WWII diplomatic norms.
• Trump's foreign policy may hinge on resource extraction, redefining countries as potential revenue streams.
• Lindsey Graham's reactions reveal the absurdity of threats against nations far removed from U.S. borders.
• Sanctions against Venezuela ironically paved the way for foreign alliances, proving counterproductive to U.S. interests.

What is discussed, and when

1. 3:00 – 6:00: Lindsey Graham
2. 12:00 – 15:00: Lindsey Graham
3. 15:00 – 16:15: Lindsey Graham, Pod Save the World

Notable quotes from "Trump’s INSANE Plan to Rule the Western Hemisphere"

• There's so much there, but and I do want to say just for the YouTube viewers, Lindsey, Graham's, face,,, each, time Trump threatens to depose another government, it looks like he just took a bump of cocaine.

  about Lindsey Graham · at 3:25

• Yep., It's, really, bad., Thank, you, for watching that excerpt of Pod Save the World, the show I do every week with Ben Rhodess where we talk about the biggest issues in foreign policy and national security. if you want to watch more.

  about Pod Save the World · at 15:26

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Lindsey Graham — Person · 4 mentions · first at 3:30

Sponsors

• Pod Save the World — Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 15:28
• Pod Save America — Sponsor · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Uh, okay. So, let's do big picture and talk about the Donro doctrine. I think that's the thing that like you and me and everyone else in the world basically is trying to figure out is is what this Venezuela operation tells us about how Trump is going to conduct foreign policy going forward. Um, so, you know, we've talked about the Donra doctrine, which is Trump's belief that he's the emperor of the Western Hemisphere. Um, we covered a lot of this when they released their national security strategy last year because it was spelled out in in pretty plain English. Um, but Trump and his team have made a bunch of um alarming and illustrative comments ever since., So,, we're, going to, play, a, couple of those for you. So, the first is a super cut of Trump talking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday where he threatens to invade a bunch of countries. So, let's roll that one first.

0:43 Colombia, is, very, sick,, too., Run, by, a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long. Cuba is ready to fall. You know

0:54 by, the, way,, you, have, to, do, something with Mexico. Mexico has to get their act together. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland, the Donro.

1:07 Okay., Uh,, and, here, is, newly, minted, uh vice roy of Venezuela, Steven Miller talking with CNN's Jake Tapper on CNN.

1:16 The, United, States, is, using, its, military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere. We're a superpower and under President Trump, we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower. It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our own backyard to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries but not to us to hoard weapons from our adversaries to be able to be positioned as an asset against the United States rather than on behalf of the United States. sovereign countries should be able to do what they want.

1:48 The, Monroe, doctrine, and, the, Trump doctrine is all about securing the national interest of America. This whole period that happened after World War II where the West began apologizing and graveling and begging these right now you're approaching this from the wrong frame. this neoliberal frame that the United States job is to go around the world and do in and demanding immediate elections be held everywhere immediately all the time right away to drink these vacuums.

2:16 That's, not, what, I, think., But, you, invaded the country. We took went into the country and we seized the leader of Venezuela.

2:22 Damn, straight, we, did, we're, not, going, to let So, is, the, US, going, to, have, new, election is that we're not going to let Timot communist dictators send rapists into our country, send drugs into our country, send weapons into our country. Okay,

2:37 Barry, Weiss, wants, to, make, sure, you,, uh, interview that guy for 16 years.

2:41 I, do, love, how, he's, ranting, about, how we're not going to let Venezuela only sell oil to the you know Chinese or whatever. It's like, uh, you guys sanctioned them in 2019 and and banned us from being able to buy their oil,

2:53 being, able, to, buy, their, oil, whatever., So,, Ben,, we, we've, talked, about like the big picture, right, which is that Trump thinks he's the emperor of the Western Hemisphere. He thinks he gets to dictate events in in Central and South America, but what kind of specific steps are you worried about or watching for him to take next? Like specifically keeps mentioning Cub Cuba. Do you think there's going to be some sort of like overt or covert move on on the Cuban government? Do you think he might really do something to pro and Colombia? Like how how are you watching to see how this plays out?

3:22 Yeah., No,, I, I'll, keep, it., I, mean, there's so much there, but and I do want to say just for the YouTube viewers, uh

3:30 Lindsey, Graham's, face,, um,, each, time Trump threatens to depose another government, it looks like he just took a bump of cocaine.

3:37 Yep. And, actually,, when, he, says, Cuba,, he's like "Ah," like he like literally looks like a jolt went through him or something.

3:42 His, first, biography, erection, since, 2003. So,, so, that's, there's, a, lot, there., Uh, congratulations.

3:50 Yeah., Congratulations,, MAGA, voters., and uh you know isolationist uh all-in potters uh who thought Trump was this you know guy that was going to end uh the imperial foreign policy um what Stephen Miller is describing is is an empire uh and all the western hemisphere um I mean which he keeps describing as our hemisphere and when he says our he doesn't just mean it like communally we all live here it means these are possessions of ours essentially which is an insane thing to say I mean these are sovereign countries it's a big hemisphere sa Paulo was 5,000 mi from New York, you know. Um, but in terms of what I expect, which is always hard with Trump, he seems most focused on two kinds of places, right? One, are there natural resources there that I can extract and my buddies can get rich off of? And then I'll probably take some massive backend cut, you know? So, like whatever oils being drilled in Venezuela

4:47 10 years from now, you know, you know Trump's kids are like the, Trump, library., Yeah., Yeah., Um,

4:54 and, two,, is, it, some, kind, of, boogeyman, you know, that I can jin up my right-wing base about? Right. So

5:02 for, that, reason,, here, are, the, countries I'm most worried about on his list of places to bomb. Right. Um, I'm uh on Cuba, I do think that they will try for the regime change. Um, they've got, you know, Marco Rubio, they've got parts of their political base in Miami that would like to see the Cuban regime gone. They you know, there's a lot of economic interests that could be developed in Cuba in the tourism industry that like Trump I know for a fact, by the way Tommy, when I because I did the Cuba negotiations, the Trump organization was down scouting like golf and hotel properties in Cuba in 2016. So Cuba is both an ideological thing for them, but it's also like a money grab. And and I would not expect that to necessarily be a new Bay of Pigs invasion. They'll probably see if they can do it with some kind of, you know, covert sabotage type stuff, squeeze the regime, but who knows?, Like, at, the, end, of the, day,, they

5:57 may just do another one of these kinds of things and see how it goes. I don't think it'll go well, but we can get to that later. Mexico. Um I do think all the chest thumping about drug trafficking and fentanyl. Um there there is this kind of momentum towards strikes in Mexico, not for regime change, but to kind of show that we're going to take shots in Mexico that deals with his political base on drugs. Greenland, I would be very very surprised if they don't try to seize Greenland. I would I put it at above 50% because that's the resourcerich place. like there's all this stuff up there, right? There's, you know, critical minerals and there's oil and gas and and and and so those three Greenland, Cuba, and potentially strikes in Mexico. Pro Columbia seems crazy to me, especially because Columbia is going to have an election.

6:46 Pro's, term, is, up, in, August., He, can't, run again. I think the first round is in a couple months, so like it would be crazy. If I were Petro, I'd shut the up, for, six, months., But

6:55 and, you, know,, I, don't, know., He's, like, I kind of like It's, helping, his, politics., It's, helping him politically. party. Yeah. And it's probably going to help his party a little bit. But the So I I I think this is not the end. I do not think Venezuela is the end. And I think they mean what they say that they want to run this place like an empire. They keep telling us this and I don't know why we wouldn't listen to them.

7:14 We, got, to, believe, them., We, got, to listen. Yeah. So let's play um another clip of Steven Miller specifically talking about Greenland and then let's dig in on that piece.

7:21 Greenland, has, a, population, of, 30,000 people. Jake, the the real question is by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark? The United States is the power of NATO for the United States to secure the Arctic region to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests. Obviously, Greenland should be part of the United States. And so, that's a conversation that we're going to have as a country. That's a process we're going to have as a as a community of nations.

7:53 So,, you, can't, take, it, off, the, table, that the US would use military force to seize Greenland. You can't take it off the table. Jake, I understand you're trying very hard

8:02 to, which, which, again, is, your, job., I respect it. It's great to get exactly the headline, right? That catchy headline trying to get an answer that says that says Miller refuses to rule out the the United States should have Greenland as part of the United States. Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.

8:24 It's, just, it's, not, the, key, point,, but his voice is so annoying. So the world is taking this very like the world I think agrees with you, Ben. Uh the Danish prime minister Meta Frederickson said um she is taking Trump's Greenland threat very seriously and that him claiming Greenland would mean quote the international community as we know it, democratic rules of the game, NATO, the world's strongest defensive alliance, all of that would collapse if one NATO country chose to attack another. Those are the stakes.

8:52 It's not just about like a block of ice who controls 30,000 people's fate right? It's it's that in her mind. And then you know earlier today there was a joint statement from about Greenland from France, Germany, Italy, Poland Spain, the UK and Denmark. It says in part, "Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States by upholding the principles of the UN charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them. Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland and them only to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland. So it it it is just clear from these statements that this would lead to an a rupture of like the entire postWorld War II order full stop.

9:39 Yeah., I, I, I, there, if, if, people, are watching this and thinking like well you know what's the big deal? Why can't the United States you know there only you know 30 50,000 people there? Um or even Madura like we did this what's the big deal? There there there's two problems um meta problems, right? One is that the Trump administration just doesn't give a about, people., So, if, the, people getting blown up in the boats or fishermen, they don't care. If Venezuela descends into violent chaos, they don't care. Like they don't they there's a valueless uh if you're not an American and probably specifically a white American they they don't give a about you.

10:22 And that that's an alarming worldview and that tends to lead to bad things that happen, you know, where we break countries and um and and their mess for years. The second piece is one you just said though, like we we are breaking every single rule that has held the world together since World War II. People got together after World War II because they had seen where autocrats nationalism, and military aggression led. It led to two world wars. Those two world wars were so devastating that everybody got together and were like "We need laws of war to govern how and when countries can go to war. We need laws to make sure that sovereignty is inviable principle so big countries just don't invade small ones because they didn't want not just another world war.

11:11 They didn't want a nuclear world war. They didn't want World War II, right? That's why you got a whole UN system all these things." And Trump is tearing at all of that with this. And look Greenland is actually the best example of it more than Venezuela. Why? Why Denmark? See, Stephen Miller is like "Why shouldn't it be ours instead of Denmark?" So, look, I I I'm not a Greenlander. I can't speak to how the Danish have been there. They've probably done some, you know, shitty things over the years, but for 300 years, like, this has kind of been a part of Denmark. like and so you know if you go in and say we're going to take this massive geography with all these natural resources and just claim it because we're stronger you are going to shatter NATO you are going to shatter the US alliance with Europe you are going to encourage the Russians and Chinese to grab more of their own because then

12:01 they're going to see we're in a resource competition we're in a great power competition we need to grab more territory right and so suddenly it's not just a Taiwan question what else is China going to try to grab what else is Russia going to grab And ultimately, as happened, in, World War, I, and, World, War II, when you have expansionist empires they bump into each other and they end up fighting a war with each other. And it may not start like the day after we take Greenland, but that is the course that he is setting us on by doing this and by having this you know two bit like Jeff Sessions staffer co-play fascist who thinks he's like a NATO geopolitics expert you know talking about like our right to Greenland is we shouldn't be

12:45 and, a, lot, of, this, came, from, his, wife's dumb trolling tweet of like Greenland with an American flag on it. Yeah. I mean, like the big question I have is like, does the Don Row doctrine mean the Western Hemisphere is ours? Clearly, he doesn't care if Putin carves up Ukraine or Europe. He's like, whatever, go deal with it. I I wonder what it means for Taiwan. I think he'll probably trade away Taiwan, but I think the big question, Ben, is like what happens if the Chinese go after uh an island that is claimed by the Japanese, right? And suddenly, like there's a hot conflict there. We should point out that on Monday, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting about us, about the United States. The secretary general of the UN said the US violated the UN charter. We were like criticized by Brazil and China and Cuba and Mexico. We even got denounced by the French who said that the Maduro operation quote

13:26 chips away at the very foundation of the international order. But but just quickly back to Lindsey Graham, right? Like this guy has been first of all he's a neocon. He's in favor of every war. But like one area where we agreed with him on policy generally was his support for Ukraine because he viewed, you know, Ukraine as the first domino that would fall and then the Russians would move across Europe and they would hit a NATO country and NATO would get drawn into the fight. Yet he's sitting there yucking it up as Trump is talking about taking Greenland, which all of our closest NATO allies say would unravel NATO as we know it. And he's like, "Oh." And he's like thinks it's fun and it's a good time because I don't know. He's got a war boner again. And it's just like I I hate these people. I hate them. They have no principles. They have no values. They mean nothing.

14:11 No,, they, and, everything, like, this, is, a really important point. And like cuz you know, we have some listeners I know who've been following this kind of stuff for years. And it's like these people like Lindsey Graham have showed up as defenders of democracy in the world for like decades, right? Like back to the John McCain days. But that was all They, sold, out, Maria, Machado the day that Trump decided that he'd rather deal with the Maduro regime people. They sold out Europe the day that like the Republican party became like a far-right ethnationalist party that was a like don't trust these people like um you know like they're the wrong people and and their ideas are dangerous and and and the reality is this Greenland thing it's going to come to a head like I we're we're not one year into Trump. You think in the next three years he's not going to try to make a play on Greenland. And how do you have a NATO

15:06 when the whole basis of the alliance is collective defense and you've got one member just seizing the territory of another?, Like, it it, doesn't, work., And then to throw Lindsey Graham's arguments back at him without NATO

15:18 well, then, you, really, do, have, the likelihood that Putin will go into the Baltics, that Putin will go into Europe proper because NATO is the thing that stops him from doing that.

15:26 Yep., It's, really, bad., Thank, you, for watching that excerpt of Pod Save the World, the show I do every week with Ben Rhodess where we talk about the biggest issues in foreign policy and national security. Uh if you want to watch more please check out Pods Save the World. It's a podcast or here on YouTube. And please subscribe to Pods Save the World on YouTube. It will really help us out a lot. It helps people find the show. Also, subscribe to Pods Save America. We're trying to build a progressive media organization and uh when you subscribe to us, it helps people find our content in the YouTube algorithm and it's free. So, please do it. It would mean a lot.

Questions about this episode

What is "Trump’s INSANE Plan to Rule the Western Hemisphere" about?

The discussion centers on the "Donro Doctrine," a concept reflecting Trump's assertion of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, which is exemplified through his remarks on potential military interventions in countries like Venezuela, Colombia, and Cuba. The dialogue highlights Trump's foreign policy stance, emphasizing military action to protect U.S. interests and counter adversaries in the…

What is mentioned in this Pod Save America episode?

3 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Lindsey Graham. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Trump’s INSANE Plan to Rule the Western Hemisphere"?

The episode runs 16 min; the transcript is about 3,181 words in 38 timestamped sections.

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