Donald Trump’s tendency to deny or obscure his own statements was on full display during recent controversies around the U.S. and Venezuela. Most notably, he appeared to shift blame for coining the phrase ‘Donroe Doctrine’—a term he himself used to describe an indefinite U.S. hold over Venezuela—before disassociating from it.
Trump played on the iconic Monroe Doctrine, a policy under ex-President James Monroe in 1823, which stated that the U.S. considered European meddling in the Americas as hostile. The U.S. President has made a mockery of this policy by interchanging its name in his classic style. During a recent interview, he denied having any hand in altering the name.
Donroe Doctrine: Trump’s Monroe Corollary shattered post-1945 order.
3 IR theories explain: 1) Revisionist decline 2) Ontological security crisis , 3) Spheres of influence return.
Endgames: “Pax Multipolaris.” US destroys rules it built. Full analysishttps://t.co/EORghDvBHP
— k c monnappa (@monaps1) January 9, 2026
Fox News host Sean Hannity stirred conversation with Trump by asking him, “Are you calling it the ‘Donroe doctrine?’” after reminding viewers about the scope of the policy. The response was unforgettable.
Donald Trump said, “Well, they call it the ‘Donroe’—I didn’t call it that, but they’re calling it. It’s the Monroe Doctrine, but now they call it the ‘Donroe doctrine,’ which is basically safety for this part of the world.”
Trump was not finished providing a whitewashed account of the remark he made following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In fact, this was not the first time Donald Trump has attempted to rebrand something with a clear connection to his own name.
Continuing further, Trump went on to speak off-topic, further distancing himself from taking responsibility for the phrase “Donroe doctrine.” He said, “Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty simple. We don’t want drugs pouring into our country. We don’t want bad people coming into our country like happened for four years under Biden, who was a disgrace.”
The origins of the controversial phrase can be traced back to one of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago press conferences, held after the U.S. captured Maduro and his wife outside Venezuela.
At the time, Trump bragged that his plans for the country would fall under what he referred to as the “Donroe Doctrine.” He said, “The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot. By a real lot. They now call it the ‘Donroe Doctrine.’ American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again.”
Trump is now claiming he’s updated the Monroe Doctrine, the DonRoe Doctrine, then his concern is the Western Hemisphere, which doesn’t include the UK, that has to be understood and accepted. The Legions always return home if that wasn’t the case this post would be in Latin.
— tongueincheek (@tonguei66408226) January 9, 2026
Beyond verbal references, the Monroe Doctrine has also been rebranded in official documents. A National Security Strategy document dated November 2025 referred to the policy under the new name “Trump Corollary.” However, the Donroe Doctrine was not mentioned.
Meanwhile, U.S. armed forces’ operations in Venezuela have raised alarms in several other countries. Trump has personally warned of potential U.S. involvement in the internal affairs of places such as Greenland, Denmark, Cuba, Colombia and Mexico.
Shedding light on what his next possible plans could be, Trump spoke to the press last week and stated, “Cuba is not doing very well right now. “That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years. And I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation.”
