Global economic imperialism

President Donald Trump’s foreign policy continues to oscillate between dramatic proclamations and aggressive maneuvers, revealing a consistent pattern: bold claims that mask expansionist ambitions. In June 2025, he authorized U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, ostensibly to bolster Israel amid missile exchanges. Yet only days later, Trump declared a “complete and total ceasefire” on June 23, casting himself as the indispensable peacemaker who had averted catastrophe. The irony is striking-bombs first, diplomacy later, with Trump positioning himself as savior of the Middle East. Fast forward to January 2026, and Iran is convulsed by protests over inflation, currency collapse, and economic despair, echoing the uprisings of 2022. Demonstrators now target Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with clashes leaving scores dead. President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledges grievances but prepares for crackdowns, aided by internet blackouts that conceal violence. Trump seizes the moment, ramping up threats against the “mullahs” and urging Khamenei’s ouster. His vow to “hit them hard” without deploying ground troops mirrors his 2025 rhetoric of “knock them down,” underscoring a maximum pressure strategy that blends military strikes with regime-change calls. Analysts see a continuity in all these. Trump’s interventions are less about stability than about projecting dominance and extracting economic gains. Even as Iran boils, Trump diverts attention to Greenland. On January 9, he declared the U.S. must “own” the Danish territory to counter Russia and China. He prefers purchase but threatens the “hard way” if talks fail. Denmark, backed by NATO allies, rejected the idea outright, defending sovereignty against what many view as a reckless provocation. This fixation, echoing his first-term musings, risks fracturing transatlantic unity at a moment when cohesion is most needed. Trump’s playbook is equally evident in Venezuela. On January 3, U.S. special forces abducted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from Caracas, transporting them to New York to face charges of narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons possession. Prosecutors allege Maduro used “narco-currency” to sustain his regime. Trump announced U.S. intent to “run Venezuela” until a transition, eyeing its oil reserves in what amounts to a revival of the Monroe Doctrine. Here again, the pattern is unmistakable: cloak intervention in legal charges, then assert control over resources. Meanwhile, Trump aligns tightly with Israel in Gaza operations, undeterred by global scrutiny. In Ukraine, his rapport with Vladimir Putin has yielded no progress toward ceasefire, leaving NATO to lead while Trump’s deal-making boasts fall flat. The contrast is telling especially, where resources or territorial ambitions beckon, Trump acts decisively; but where diplomacy alone is required, he recedes. Taken together, these moves reveal priorities not of statesmanship but of an economic imperialist. Greenland’s strategic location and Venezuela’s oil reserves are cast as prizes to be seized, while Iran’s turmoil becomes a stage for threats and pressure. Trump’s foreign policy is less about peace than about territorial grabs and economic mileage, heedless of the risks of war. As Iran’s protests rage and Venezuela reels, the world edges toward peril when U.S. power is wielded as a blunt instrument of wealth extraction. Democracies must recognize this trajectory for what it is-adventurism cloaked in rhetoric-and unite to resist it. The alternative is a global order destabilized by empire masquerading as diplomacy.