Try to prove me wrong on that – his actions over the last few months have positioned him to be remembered alongside some of the greatest global dominators in modern history. No one has wielded the presidency as he has; he truly understands the art of power.
President Trump has set out to redefine global affairs and America’s role in them fundamentally. How could he not, after the world watched us withdraw from Afghanistan in ridiculous fashion under Biden’s administration? In its wake, thirteen American soldiers lay dead, and our reputation on the world stage lay decimated.
What a dangerous moment for our nation.
For decades before Trump, Washington acted as if American strength were something to hold tightly under meek control, with the occasional apology for even possessing such power.
That kind of weakness has consequences: cartels poison our people. Dictators test our resolve. Foreign adversaries fill the vacuums we deliberately leave behind. That’s not America; that’s a third-world leadership mentality.
The United States was not built to manage decline. We were built to dominate. Teddy Roosevelt understood this reality when he articulated what became known as the Roosevelt Corollary.
His belief was simple. In our hemisphere, America does not wait for chaos to arrive on our doorstep. We act early, decisively, and overwhelmingly to protect our people and our interests. That doctrine kept foreign powers out of the Western Hemisphere and made America safer for generations.
Today, we need that clarity again.
Foreign policy exists for one reason only: to protect American citizens and advance our interests. It is not about international approval. It is not about humanitarian press releases. It is not about endless foreign aid while our own communities collapse. America First means total and complete domination. Every dollar, every deployment, every decision must be measured by one standard: does this make America stronger, safer, and more prosperous?
Take Venezuela. For years, a socialist dictatorship sat on massive oil reserves, aligned with our enemies, exporting drugs, crime, and instability, and dared us to do something about it. Washington treats this like a complicated moral puzzle. It is not. Venezuela is a strategic opportunity. Removing Maduro through a rapid, decisive military operation was not nation-building; it was pure, total dominance. Running Venezuela is not charity; it is power projection.
Eliminate cartel infrastructure, control energy markets, deport illegal aliens back to a country we manage, create American jobs, and make the United States richer in the process. THAT is what winning looks like.
The same principle applies to cartels. These are not misunderstood criminals. They are narco terrorists who kill Americans every day with fentanyl and human trafficking. Treating them like a law enforcement problem has failed; they must be treated like enemy combatants. If a drug vessel is racing toward our shores loaded with poison, we should treat it like a loaded gun cocked and ready to kill Americans. They should be shot out of the water so fast that there is not one millisecond of cognizance between riding the open seas and facing the eternal fires of hell.
It is the most basic responsibility of a sovereign nation: American lives come first, full stop.
Some people clutch their pearls when they hear that kind of language. Good. Fear is a deterrent. Dictators should not sleep well at night. Cartel leaders should wake up every morning wondering if today is the day American power ends their operation. Peace does not come from apologies. Peace comes from strength so overwhelming that no one dares challenge it.
This is not globalism. It is the opposite. I have no interest in policing Europe or funding endless wars that do nothing for American families. Our focus should be on our advancement, our borders, and our people. A strong America at home allows us to dictate terms abroad. Weak nations get pushed around. Strong nations write the rules.
To that end, after President Trump solidifies the United States’ control of Greenland and Venezuela, the Panama Canal should be next. That canal exists because of American blood and engineering. Reasserting control of the canal is the natural next step of the Trump doctrine, restoring American strength and enforcing our hegemony across the Western Hemisphere. As the President crafts his global legacy, I hope he swiftly reclaims this American-built treasure.
I will never apologize for our heritage or our history. The West built the modern world. America has been the greatest force for good the world has ever known. That truth makes weak leaders uncomfortable because it demands responsibility. Prosperity requires power. Security requires dominance. Freedom requires the willingness to defend it.
Young Americans understand this instinctively. They are tired of watching their future sacrificed on the altar of elite approval. They want results. They want jobs, safe communities, affordable homes, and a country that commands respect. They know that endless foreign aid while Americans struggle is insanity. They know that masculinity, strength, and conviction are not flaws. They are necessities.
The federal government should be involved in very few things. Winning wars. Securing borders. Negotiating trade deals that benefit Americans. When Washington focuses on those core responsibilities and executes them with confidence, America thrives.
I refuse to accept a foreign policy built on apology and retreat. This President, like the great leaders of history, can charge forward and embrace American supremacy. America must dominate the world stage, not because we crave conflict, but because peace, prosperity, and freedom only exist when America is strong enough to enforce them. That is a fight worth having.
Madison Cawthorn is a former Congressman from North Carolina's 11th congressional district, and is now a Republican candidate for Florida's 19th congressional district.
President Trump has set out to redefine global affairs and America’s role in them fundamentally. How could he not, after the world watched us withdraw from Afghanistan in ridiculous fashion under Biden’s administration? In its wake, thirteen American soldiers lay dead, and our reputation on the world stage lay decimated.
What a dangerous moment for our nation.
For decades before Trump, Washington acted as if American strength were something to hold tightly under meek control, with the occasional apology for even possessing such power.
That kind of weakness has consequences: cartels poison our people. Dictators test our resolve. Foreign adversaries fill the vacuums we deliberately leave behind. That’s not America; that’s a third-world leadership mentality.
The United States was not built to manage decline. We were built to dominate. Teddy Roosevelt understood this reality when he articulated what became known as the Roosevelt Corollary.
His belief was simple. In our hemisphere, America does not wait for chaos to arrive on our doorstep. We act early, decisively, and overwhelmingly to protect our people and our interests. That doctrine kept foreign powers out of the Western Hemisphere and made America safer for generations.
Today, we need that clarity again.
Foreign policy exists for one reason only: to protect American citizens and advance our interests. It is not about international approval. It is not about humanitarian press releases. It is not about endless foreign aid while our own communities collapse. America First means total and complete domination. Every dollar, every deployment, every decision must be measured by one standard: does this make America stronger, safer, and more prosperous?
Take Venezuela. For years, a socialist dictatorship sat on massive oil reserves, aligned with our enemies, exporting drugs, crime, and instability, and dared us to do something about it. Washington treats this like a complicated moral puzzle. It is not. Venezuela is a strategic opportunity. Removing Maduro through a rapid, decisive military operation was not nation-building; it was pure, total dominance. Running Venezuela is not charity; it is power projection.
Eliminate cartel infrastructure, control energy markets, deport illegal aliens back to a country we manage, create American jobs, and make the United States richer in the process. THAT is what winning looks like.
The same principle applies to cartels. These are not misunderstood criminals. They are narco terrorists who kill Americans every day with fentanyl and human trafficking. Treating them like a law enforcement problem has failed; they must be treated like enemy combatants. If a drug vessel is racing toward our shores loaded with poison, we should treat it like a loaded gun cocked and ready to kill Americans. They should be shot out of the water so fast that there is not one millisecond of cognizance between riding the open seas and facing the eternal fires of hell.
It is the most basic responsibility of a sovereign nation: American lives come first, full stop.
Some people clutch their pearls when they hear that kind of language. Good. Fear is a deterrent. Dictators should not sleep well at night. Cartel leaders should wake up every morning wondering if today is the day American power ends their operation. Peace does not come from apologies. Peace comes from strength so overwhelming that no one dares challenge it.
This is not globalism. It is the opposite. I have no interest in policing Europe or funding endless wars that do nothing for American families. Our focus should be on our advancement, our borders, and our people. A strong America at home allows us to dictate terms abroad. Weak nations get pushed around. Strong nations write the rules.
To that end, after President Trump solidifies the United States’ control of Greenland and Venezuela, the Panama Canal should be next. That canal exists because of American blood and engineering. Reasserting control of the canal is the natural next step of the Trump doctrine, restoring American strength and enforcing our hegemony across the Western Hemisphere. As the President crafts his global legacy, I hope he swiftly reclaims this American-built treasure.
I will never apologize for our heritage or our history. The West built the modern world. America has been the greatest force for good the world has ever known. That truth makes weak leaders uncomfortable because it demands responsibility. Prosperity requires power. Security requires dominance. Freedom requires the willingness to defend it.
Young Americans understand this instinctively. They are tired of watching their future sacrificed on the altar of elite approval. They want results. They want jobs, safe communities, affordable homes, and a country that commands respect. They know that endless foreign aid while Americans struggle is insanity. They know that masculinity, strength, and conviction are not flaws. They are necessities.
The federal government should be involved in very few things. Winning wars. Securing borders. Negotiating trade deals that benefit Americans. When Washington focuses on those core responsibilities and executes them with confidence, America thrives.
I refuse to accept a foreign policy built on apology and retreat. This President, like the great leaders of history, can charge forward and embrace American supremacy. America must dominate the world stage, not because we crave conflict, but because peace, prosperity, and freedom only exist when America is strong enough to enforce them. That is a fight worth having.
Madison Cawthorn is a former Congressman from North Carolina's 11th congressional district, and is now a Republican candidate for Florida's 19th congressional district.
