CNN anchor Abby Phillip slammed President Donald Trump for, as she put it, “declaring himself King of the World.”
Phillip unpacked the president’s busy start to the new year on CNN Saturday Morning Table for Five.
“Just 10 days into the new year, Donald Trump seems to be channeling his inner Leonardo DiCaprio and declaring himself the “king of the world!”She stated, before pointing to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro as well as threats to take over Cuba, Colombia and Greenland as proof of the chaos.
“If it’s not clear yet, Trump says that the only thing limiting his powers on the world stage is, quote, his own morality,” Phillip said. “And to top it all off, he says the U.S. doesn’t need international law. That is a whole lot of the Don-roe doctrine, as he would put it. Where does that leave us if the president doesn’t think that he’s accountable to anyone but himself?”
The anchor kicked off her Saturday morning broadcast by discussing Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” with her panel of guests. The president has been carrying out his foreign policy agenda to assert dominance in the Western Hemisphere, including by attacking Venezuela, under the cover of the Monroe Doctrine.
The 19th-century policy, formulated by President James Monroe, was originally drafted to keep European forces out of the Western Hemisphere, which was considered the U.S.’ sphere of influence. Trump has colloquially renamed the policy after himself and expanded the reach of the doctrine, saying his administration “superseded it by a lot.” (Although, the Monroe Doctrine’s rebrand was not his original idea.)
“American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump said during a press conference following the operation in Venezuela.
Lydia Moynihan, a correspondent for the New York Post, kicked off the panel discussion on CNN Saturday Morning Table for Five, asserting that Trump was operating within the limits of the Monroe Doctrine.
“What he’s saying is in line with what the Monroe Doctrine has stated for hundreds of years that we have a responsibility and the ability to have sovereignty in this hemisphere,” Moynihan said. “So I don’t think that anything he’s done has been out of line with the Monroe Doctrine that’s governed foreign policy for hundreds of years now in the U.S.”
Phillip pushed back, suggesting that the Founding Fathers would likely agree that the president should be accountable to the people rather than his own interests.
Trump promised to “run” Venezuela and take control of its oil, a move that drew widespread criticism across the world. Even his supporters were skeptical of the intervention because it countered the president’s campaign promise to put “America first.”
Despite the backlash, the president has pushed forward with threats to execute similar military operations in Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia. Trump was most explicit in his remarks against Colombian President Gustavo Petro during an appearance on Fox News.
“I stick by my first statement. He’s making cocaine,” Trump said.. “They’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his a--.”
Trump has also threatened to seize Greenland, which is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark is an ally of the United States, a fact that the Danish Ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Moeller Soerensen reminded Americans of.
“We expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said on X.
