American Empire Declared: GovBrief #338

The American Empire announced itself today.

Donald Trump held a press conference at the resort where he has been for fourteen consecutive days and declared that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”

He renamed the 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine as the Donroe Doctrine and went back inside before 2 p.m. Forty were dead in Venezuela, a country that Donald Trump says America now runs. His vice president defended the attack by saying that “drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States.”

The Secretary of State later threatened Cuba. Trump has threatened Mexico and Colombia.

Dr. Maya Angelou’s words are often used to describe Donald Trump: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.“

Tonight, believe him.

Behind the curtain

On our original intensity score scale, tonight’s eight stories would have scored a 66 with 100 meaning a normal day.

We built a new system that accounts for story severity using feedback from news watchers and political professionals, and it launched just days ago.

Our new intensity scale scores these headlines as a 194.

The full methodology and five-day trend are posted daily at govbrief.today and in every email. If you’re reading this on social media, you’re missing both.

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🚨 GovBrief Intensity Score 194

Extreme. History will remember.

Volume: Low (8)

Severity: Critical (4)

Defining Moments: 4

Previous 5 Days
🟡100|🟢76|🚨156|🟠128|🟡91

100 = normal day. Volume is headline count. Stories weighted by significance. Defining Moments are the ones history remembers.

Today's Quote

The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States.

JD Vance posting on X.com on January 3, 2026, to affirm that "stolen oil", which is in Venezuela's ground must be returned to the U.S.