Trump Bares His Rendition of 'Manifest Destiny'

Volume 6, Issue No. 30

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

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Our latest as of Thursday, January 23, 2025 

~ William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president, was a prominent figure in Philippine history. For one, his name is synonymous with the Philippine Army as its national headquarters in Makati, the Ft. William McKinley, was branded after him in 1901. Early this week, President Trump mentioned him as part of his effort to restore American greatness. McKinley was an imperialist through and through, and during his tenure, he grabbed the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain and made them U.S. territories. Ft. McKinley faded into antiquity and replaced with a more politically-correct name, Fort Bonifacio, the vast military camp that has been transformed into a popular business and shopping centre called Bonifacio Global City. 

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DONALD TRUMP'S VERSION OF MANIFEST DESTINY

Aping the Imperialist William McKinley

Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines Came Under the US

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

TORONTO - One of the first acts by U.S. President Donald Trump was to sign an executive order "restoring names that honor American greatness," mentioning, among others, William McKinley, the 25th president.

Trump directed that Mount McKinley be reinstated as the name for Mt. Denali in Alaska, North America's highest peak, in recognition of McKinley's "historic legacy of protecting America's interests and generating enormous wealth for all Americans."

Indeed, the accolade maybe an allusion to what McKinley had done during his tenure when the U.S. grabbed Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines - then Spain's colonies - after the U.S. emerged victorious in the Spanish-American War of 1898, the same year in June when the Philippines declared independence. Later, the U.S. annexed Hawaii, becoming its 50th State.

McKinley is familiar to three generations (the silent generation, baby boomers, and generation X) in the Philippines. It was his name, Ft. William McKinley, that was given to the national headquarters of the Philippine Army in 1901during the Philippine-American War. 

In 1957, Ft. McKinley was renamed Fort Bonifacio after the father of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio who was a native of Taguig, then a town of the province of Tondo, now Manila.

Fort Bonifacio was among the military bases converted into business centers during the presidency of Corazon Aquino in 1992. Presently, the sprawling area is called Bonifacio Global City. But I digress. 

For the 1900 U.S. presidential election, McKinley, a Republican, campaigned on a platform of "imperialism, protectionism, and free silver" - the very same items Trump, also a Republican, restates as he begins his second term at the White House.

"McKinley is generally ranked as an above-average president," according to Wikipedia. "However, his take-over of the Philippines is often criticized as an act of imperialism."

In his inaugural address, Trump sounded "manifest destiny into the stars," again a reiteration of his imperial ambition to expand U.S. territory beyond its present borders. 

He has repeatedly referred to Canada as the "51st State" of the U.S. and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "Governor Trudeau." (Related story: Donald Trump's Expansionist Musings

Manifest Destiny was first used in 1845 by New York City journalist John Louis O’Sullivan who used the term in the context of America’s annexation of the Republic of Texas, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.

"Manifest Destiny represented the idea that it was America’s right — its destiny, in fact — to expand across all of North America," it explained. 

"Politicians and citizens in the United States called for the US to expand by claiming control of British territory. This included the Province of Canada (formerly Upper Canada and Lower Canada), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia."

Currently, Trumps seems obsessed with his own version of Manifest Destiny, making known his aspiration to acquire Greenland from Denmark, the Panama Canal, and Canada.

With Greenland and Canada in its fold - that's assuming it would happen - the US would be occupying the entirety of North America minus Mexico. It's a Trumpian dream that could turn very bloody. (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved).