– G.A. Zyuganov –
Everyone was prepared for the fact that Donald Trump’s return to the White House would bring significant changes to the domestic and foreign policy of the United States. However, the former-and-future president managed to shock even under these circumstances. First, he began taking radical steps even before assuming office. Second, his actions turned out to be unexpected, even considering Trump’s scandalous reputation.
Shortly after the election results were announced, the Republican unleashed a series of sharp statements signalling plans for territorial expansion. He called Canada the 51st state of the U.S. and its prime minister a “governor.” Trump claims that the U.S.-Canada border is “artificially drawn” and that Canada allegedly lives off the United States.
Next in line was Panama, or more precisely, the Panama Canal. Since 1903, the canal zone had been under U.S. jurisdiction. However, in 1977, the presidents of both countries, Omar Torrijos and Jimmy Carter, signed an agreement to gradually return the territory to Panama. This process was fully completed in 1999.
Trump promises to challenge the previous agreements. He claims that control over the Panama Canal has effectively been handed over to China. As a result, he alleges, the Panamanian authorities have raised transit fees for U.S. ships. However, both claims are false. It is true that Chinese companies have won tenders to manage some Panamanian seaports. But they cannot interfere with the operation of the interoceanic artery. As for the increase in fees, this process occurs regularly and affects all ships without exception, including Chinese ones.
Trump’s demands for Denmark to hand over Greenland to the United States have been no less sensational. In fact, Washington has long had significant leverage over both Copenhagen and the world’s largest island. As a member of NATO, Denmark is effectively under U.S. control. The U.S. operates the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, which until 2023 was known as Thule Air Base. This military facility has the infrastructure to accommodate up to 10,000 troops and B-52 strategic bombers. During the Cold War, an early-warning radar station was built there.
However, Donald Trump is not satisfied with this. He insists that Greenland should be ceded to the United States. According to him, this idea is necessary for national security interests and “to protect the free world from the threats posed by China and Russia.”
Another target of the elected president’s belligerent rhetoric is Mexico. Trump is not talking about annexing this country of 130 million people. Dealing with Canada is easier for him, given its population of 40 million. Nevertheless, the new U.S. leader has already demanded that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the “Gulf, of America” and his team believes it is possible to conduct military operations on Mexican territory “against drug cartels.”
Trump generously backs up his bold statements with threats of military force. He promises that Washington could resort to extreme measures in the event of Panama’s refusal to cooperate or if negotiations with Danish authorities fail to progress.
Trump’s expansionist ambitions are not the product of his fevered imagination but rather the agenda of an influential political group and a significant part of the ruling class in the United States. This conclusion is supported by the ongoing propaganda hysteria. Right-wing politicians and media have eagerly picked up the future president’s slogans, broadcasting them widely and elaborately. Maps have even appeared showing all of North America, along with Greenland and the Panama Canal, as part of the United States.
The term “Trump Doctrine” is now entering circulation. This is a direct reference to the infamous Monroe Doctrine and its expanded interpretation by President Theodore Roosevelt, which later became known as the “Big Stick Policy.”
The parallels are more than transparent. During his first presidential term, Trump chose Ronald Reagan as his role model. Now, however, the shadow of Theodore Roosevelt looms over the country and the world. It was under Roosevelt that the U.S. took control of the Panama Canal Zone, turned Cuba into a de facto protectorate and fully occupied the Philippines, transforming it into a colony.
During that era, the U.S. was highly active in its expansionist policies. In 1905, under the threat of invasion, Washington imposed unequal agreements on the Dominican Republic. A similar manoeuvre had been carried out earlier against Venezuela. Under the pretext of restoring order, American troops occupied Cuba and remained there until 1909. Roosevelt boasted about this operation, calling it “the quickest mobilization and dispatch of troops by sea ever conducted by our government.”
Now, similar arrogant tones can be heard in Donald Trump’s statements. Recall that his election campaign was built on promises to end international conflicts, minimize U.S. involvement in them and focus on solving domestic problems. But what has caused the politician to change so rapidly and turn to interventionist rhetoric?
There appear to be several reasons. First, his scandalous statements and the media frenzy they create are likely intended to soften the negative impact of Trump’s socio-economic policies. His appointment of big business representatives, including Wall Street financiers, to key positions leaves no doubt: “Trump 2.0” will pursue an even more neoliberal course than before. For instance, during his presidency, the corporate tax rate was reduced from 35% to 21%. Now, there are plans to cut it further to 15%. Additionally, major corporations are being promised numerous tax breaks and privileges.
All of this will inevitably reduce budget revenues. Of course, one could try to patch the holes by increasing the national debt. But Trump harshly criticized Biden and Obama for doing just that, so he is unlikely to rush to use this tool. That leaves the second option — cutting spending. And Trump’s team is quite open about this as well.
Even the meagre handouts that the Democrats provided to working people are labelled as “communism” by Trumpists, who demand their elimination. Members of the incoming administration have announced plans to cut programs for subsidized healthcare and food assistance. They advocate for the abolition of labour protection rules and the dissolution of agencies that enforce them. There are even threats to stifle labour unions.
This harsh policy, designed to benefit a handful of the wealthy, risks fuelling widespread discontent. Anticipating this, Trump is stoking the image of an enemy. Among the supposed adversaries are “illegal immigrants,” “communists” and “Chinese agents.” Chauvinist sentiments are being inflamed, and ordinary Americans are being promised benefits from the annexation of new territories.
It would be a mistake to assume that Trump’s motives are purely manipulative. The politician and the forces behind him openly state that their goal is to preserve the global hegemony of the United States — at any cost. With the slogan “Peace through Strength,” they promise to put China in its place and crush anyone who does not accept their rules, including Russia.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump claimed that he had warned Putin against attacking Ukraine. “Vladimir, if you attack Ukraine, I’ll hit you so hard you won’t believe it. I’ll hit you right in the centre of your (…) Moscow,” he asserted.
In another speech, Trump shared his method for forcing Moscow to the negotiating table: crashing oil and gas prices to deprive Russia of revenue. “On the day of my inauguration, I’ll call Putin and tell him: sit down at the negotiating table. If he refuses, oil will be below $40 a barrel within a few months,” Trump threatened during a campaign rally.
Surprisingly, despite all this, many Russian media outlets continue to portray Trump as a peacemaker and a “friend of Moscow.” They prefer to remain silent about the anti-Russian rhetoric that regularly surfaces in his speeches.
It is possible that the Trump administration will not immediately send troops to seize Greenland or annex the Panama Canal. But raising the stakes is a hallmark of Trump’s style. By escalating tensions to the limit, he may settle for concessions from Canada in renegotiating trade agreements. He may secure privileges for using the Panama Canal. He may negotiate access to Greenland’s deposits of lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt and oil. In any case, the U.S. moneybags will reap another major profit, and Washington will strengthen its position on the global stage.
In light of this, the stance of many so-called “opinion leaders” in our country is puzzling. Some refrain from the slightest criticism of Trump, even though his initiatives, such as those regarding Greenland, are accompanied by anti-Russian rhetoric. Another group of experts even views the American politician’s threats with apparent sympathy, portraying them as blows against the globalist elites.
However, such a reaction seems quite predictable. Despite Vladimir Putin’s statements that capitalism has reached a dead end, the Russian ruling class has no intention of breaking away from the capitalist system. The limit of their aspirations is to be left alone and allowed to continue enriching themselves.
The forced confrontation with the West has clearly exhausted a significant portion of Russia’s ruling class. It is waiting for more or less favourable conditions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, it eagerly welcomes any changes that raise hopes for a de-escalation of tensions. Trump’s return to the presidency seems to them to be one such change.
Having trapped themselves in a dead end of illusions, Russia’s officialdom turns a blind eye to everything that shatters their false worldview. They dismiss obvious facts. They fail to see that Trump never intended to “drain the Washington swamp” or end U.S. interference in global affairs to maintain their global dominance.
And yet, the “second edition” of Trump will be far more ruthless and brazen than the first! Such is the logic of capitalist development. The intensification of inter-imperialist competition forces the main players to discard the masks of democracy and human rights.
To begin with, let’s not forget what the “peaceful” steps of Trump’s first term looked like. These included missile strikes on Syria, the assassination of Iranian military leaders, an attempted coup in Venezuela, the tightening of sanctions against Cuba and the derailment of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Also on this list are the escalation of confrontation with China and the start of weapons deliveries to Kiev. In the new phase of Trump’s political career, these actions may seem like mere child’s play.
For some reason, many in Moscow refuse to accept this. Perhaps because doing so would require acknowledging that the source of Russia’s troubles is not individual figures like Biden, Scholz, Macron, Sunak, Duda or Zelensky. Our main problem is capitalism itself. And the Russian ruling class still has no intention of moving beyond capitalism. These people will cling to the hope of “goodwill” from the bourgeois global elites until the very end. And each time, they will continue to be genuinely outraged when these elites plunge yet another knife into Russia’s back.
Moreover, among the Russian authorities, there are many sympathizers of right-wing forces. Hence the nods toward Alternative for Germany, Marine Le Pen and other Western politicians willing to play the loaded cards of chauvinism. Yet all these forces promote nationalist rhetoric, explicitly aiming to divert citizens’ attention from domestic problems. In doing so, they create the most favourable conditions for their own wealthy elites. There is no hint of friendship with Russia here. These are forces of extreme selfishness. Friendship between peoples is alien to them by their very nature.
The West will only take Russia seriously when our country embarks on a path of genuine revival. When we “rise from our knees” not within the confines of a wretched resource-based model. When our economy becomes robust and our science cutting-edge. When a strong social policy is restored and culture flourishes. Only on the path of socialist development, rather than repeating the failures of capitalism, will Russia become great again.
The historical task of our country is to once again take the lead in social progress, rather than living under the illusion that fake “friends of Moscow” will come to power in the U.S. or Europe. Only then will we avoid being drawn into the obviously losing “shell game” with the West, periodically turning a blind eye to the aggressive plans of Washington’s colonialists. Only in this way can we solve great constructive tasks and, together with other BRICS countries and the global majority, establish justice on our planet.
Gennady Zyuganov is the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
(Translated by NEPH from the Russian original)