U.S. President Donald Trump’s slogan, "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), has become code for the pursuit of global hegemony. The notion of "great" refers both to the golden era when America was the sole superpower, with military, economic and technological superiority, and to the legacy of the colonial empire on which the sun never set, positioning the U.S. as the modern successor to Britain. In both of his terms, MAGA has served as Trump’s promise of prosperity and a return to a "golden age."
In 2025, with Trump’s return to the presidency, MAGA entered its second wave. During his first term, the U.S. acted against countries like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Israel, but now it is advancing a far broader design of hegemony and sole dominance, stretching to strategic demands over many countries.
With Trump’s comeback, the first signs of this strategy quickly became visible. Continuing from his previous tenure, he is again threatening Venezuela, which holds the world’s richest oil fields, imposing sanctions to bring it back under U.S. influence. On the other side, he is making territorial demands from Canada, issuing threats and territorial claims over Greenland and declaring his intent to effectively turn the Gulf of Mexico into the “American Gulf.” These were the opening steps of the new era. These moves show that the U.S. has been rolling up its sleeves not only for border security or economic interest, but also to seize control over global resources and trade routes.
Trump mainly targets rare elements and energy resources, aiming to tie the supply chains of the world’s most critical sectors to Washington. For this purpose, Latin America ranks first globally both in oil and rare elements, and its rich rivers and fertile lands are also crucial for addressing energy and climate crises. Similarly, Greenland and Canada, which are rich in precious minerals, rare elements, water resources and fertile lands suitable for agriculture, attract the attention of the U.S. At the same time, the Trump administration is trying to penetrate mineral deposits in Africa and energy basins in the Middle East.
Rare elements, which are essential for electricity – and chip-based systems, along with maritime trade routes and the northern regions of Canada and Greenland, which will gain value due to global warming, are critical for future leadership. In today’s increasingly multipolar world, leadership requires access to oil and natural gas resources, and secure trade routes. All of these together shape the MAGA ideology: now and in the future, if the U.S. does not act immediately and seize control over these territories, it risks losing its leadership.
Given the presence of a strong rival like China, it becomes necessary for the U.S. to dominate the fields of defense, energy and trade routes. Otherwise, China will continue to rise, and if the U.S. is late, there will be no turning back. Losing world leadership to China would mean facing Chinese restrictions and possibly a Russian threat. Yet, to secure its plans, the U.S. must remain strong and preserve its power. The MAGA strategy pursues these goals deliberately and for the same reason, the Department of Defense has effectively been transformed into a “Department of War.”
At the same time, Trump is increasing economic pressure on the European Union while reinforcing military dependence through NATO. Through tax policies, he forces global trade to favor the U.S., compelling multinational corporations to return home and making the “Made in USA” label central once again. This is not merely commercial competition but part of a broader project to bring the entire world under American financial power and military strength. From this point on, developments began to snowball, signaling an encirclement strategy spreading across every region.
The most evident pillar of Trump’s MAGA strategy is to make Europe dependent on the U.S. again. For this, he follows two methods: economic pressure and military necessity. On the economic front, the Trump administration squeezes EU countries with high tariffs, putting European companies in critical sectors from automotive to steel in a difficult position. This compels the European economy to strike new deals with Washington. The U.S. also uses the dollar-centered financial system as a weapon, preventing the EU from building independent financial mechanisms through sanctions and SWIFT pressure.
On the military front, pressure is increasing through NATO. Trump’s “pay more to NATO” rhetoric is not merely about budgets, but a way to bind European allies militarily to Washington. Especially after the Ukraine War, with Europe’s rising security concerns, it cannot leave the U.S. military umbrella. But this umbrella is also a chain. With an army base network stretching from Germany to Poland and from the Baltic countries to Italy, the U.S. turns Europe into a buffer continent.
In energy, too, with the cutoff of Russian gas, the U.S. fills the gap with LNG exports, making Europe dependent on American energy. Thus, Europe is being drawn into a position of economic and security dependency on the U.S.
In Trump’s global map, the Middle East holds a special place because it is both the heart of energy resources and the crossroads of Asia-Europe trade routes. The U.S.’ “grand strategy” here operates on several dimensions. First comes the oil and natural gas reserves. Through close ties with Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries, the Trump administration aims to control the flow of energy, making China and Europe dependent on U.S. access to these resources. Pressure on Iran is also part of this strategy: once Tehran’s regional influence is weakened, the U.S. monopoly over energy strengthens further.
The second dimension is trade routes. From the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Suez Canal, these lines are the lifelines of global trade. Through bases, port agreements and military cooperation, Trump tries to establish “control over sea lanes.”
That is why the U.S. deepens relations with Israel while simultaneously keeping Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf countries under its security umbrella. On the Gaza issue, it plays good cop/bad cop with Israel, avoiding backlash from regional states while maintaining control through a mediator role. For the U.S., the Middle East is not only about energy and trade, but also the largest market for arms sales. Trump’s multi-hundred-billion-dollar arms deals, feeding the military-industrial complex, are carried out through regional instability.
In the eyes of the U.S., the Middle East matters not only for oil and gas reserves but also as a geopolitical bridge to Africa and Asia. The route stretching from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden into the Indian Ocean is one of the main arteries of global trade. For the U.S., this region is not just for transporting energy, but also critical for accessing Africa’s underground wealth and blocking China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). That is why Washington tries to control the region through a chain of bases stretching from the Somali coast to Yemen, from Djibouti to Bahrain. In Trump’s strategy, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal also play a central role, as this is the only passage linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
The U.S.’ constant pressure on Egypt is not only for Israel’s security but also to ensure this gate remains under Washington’s control. Dominance in the Middle East also serves as a gateway to Africa. To have influence over rare elements and strategic minerals in Sub-Saharan Africa, the U.S. must first secure control over these trade routes. Thus, the Middle East is more than an energy hub; it is the keystone of the U.S.’ “grand strategy” as a global logistics and defense gate.
On the economic and trade front, Trump implemented policies that prioritize American production: tax cuts and incentives supporting the manufacturing sector. He strengthened energy independence in line with the MAGA goal, particularly by increasing oil and gas production while limiting green energy investments. He enforced laws increasing border security and restricting migration. He launched budget increases and modernization projects, strengthening the U.S. military. He expanded military presence in the North Atlantic and Pacific regions, especially by developing deterrence strategies against China and Russia. New weapons systems and technological investments were accelerated in line with MAGA objectives.
In 2025, Trump’s MAGA strategy is being applied as a comprehensive plan of hegemony, not only to “make America great again” but to make the U.S. the sole global power. MAGA is not merely a set of random populist slogans or short-term political moves; it is a long-term U.S. global policy doctrine, comprehensively planned and strategically implemented.
Today, fossil fuels and oil and gas reserves remain important and to be the world leader, one must seize maritime trade crossroads. MAGA strategy aims to increase U.S. influence in resource-rich regions such as Venezuela and Guyana, limit China’s rise, secure climate and agriculture-friendly regions like the Arctic and Greenland, control energy and trade routes in the Middle East and Latin America, and render Europe economically and militarily dependent on the U.S.
With a modern interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, strategic influence in the Western Hemisphere is being reestablished, while the MAGA plan is holistically supported, from energy and rare elements to defense and technological superiority. This comprehensive and long-term approach seeks to make U.S. global leadership permanent in the 21st century and to secure advantages in future struggles over territory, energy, trade and technology.
