February 7: Speak softly and wield a big (economic) stick

In which, President Trumps adds his own twist to the Roosevelt Corollary, the US is apparently (maybe?) taking over Gaza, and I evaluate claims that Elon Musk is America’s shadow king.

Speak softly and wield a big (economic) stick

Forget the Monroe Doctrine, or Manifest Destiny 2.0, the Trump foreign policy seems to be taking after Teddy Roosevelt with an economic twist. TR famously quipped that the US should “speak softly and carry a big stick,” and articulated that concept more fully in his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. This corollary expanded the Monroe Doctrine to not only close the Western Hemisphere to European colonization, but to also assert America’s right to intervene in Latin American nations to preserve order. While the Monroe Doctrine was focused on keeping Europe out of the Americas, the Roosevelt Corollary was focused on keeping the Americas in line with American interests.

That seems to be more along the lines of the Trump approach to Latin America with a Trump corollary to the Roosevelt corollary: that big stick is economic, not military. By wielding the threat of tariffs over the last week, President Trump appeared to get first Canada, then Mexico to pretty quickly bend to American wishes on securing borders and interdicting illegal crossings and drug smuggling. Similar threats led to Colombia and Venezuela making concessions to the US.

Panama, too, had appeared to accede to American wishes to allow free passage of US naval vessels through the Canal while limiting Chinese influence there. This week, Panama appeared to walk back such concessions, so it appears as though there may be some limitations to the Trump administration’s Rooseveltian approach to diplomacy, but Panama balking is hardly indicative of a failure so much as it’s a reminder that diplomacy is an always ongoing work.

The next test for the Trump administration may come in Nicaragua where the government of Daniel Ortega is stepping up its persecution of religious groups at exactly the same time the Trump administration is publicly prioritizing religious freedom in its diplomacy efforts.