Marco Rubio and the America First Opportunity for Influence over Latin America

With Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s appointment as national security adviser, and President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Rubio’s chances to be his successor, the secretary of state has the unique chance to draft a foreign policy where “America First” means leading in our own hemisphere. That is, the second Trump administration should marry nationalist priorities with regional leadership. Call it the “Rubio Doctrine,” a 21st-century updating of James Monroe’s famous warning to Old World powers to stay out of our backyard. An America First agenda can now be strengthened by renewed engagement with our near neighbors.

Economic Opportunity and Friend-Shoring

With Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s appointment as national security adviser, and President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Rubio’s chances to be his successor, the secretary of state has the unique chance to draft a foreign policy where “America First” means leading in our own hemisphere. That is, the second Trump administration should marry nationalist priorities with regional leadership. Call it the “Rubio Doctrine,” a 21st-century updating of James Monroe’s famous warning to Old World powers to stay out of our backyard. An America First agenda can now be strengthened by renewed engagement with our near neighbors.

Economic Opportunity and Friend-Shoring

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About the Author

Ilya Shapiro

Ilya Shapiro is executive director of Georgetown Law’s Center for the Constitution (on paid leave pending investigation, now completing its fourth month, of his social-media speech) and author of Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America’s Highest Court, which comes out in paperback in July.

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About the Author

Santiago Vidal Calvo

Santiago Vidal Calvo is a Cities policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute.