Donald Trump promised to fix all of America’s problems, including two of the biggest issues of the 2024 election: the high cost of living and immigration and enforcement at the US-Mexico border.
He didn’t mention anything on the campaign trail about expanding America’s borders by annexing territory from longstanding US allies — including by hostile means, if necessary.
With just two weeks until his inauguration, however, Trump is pushing — or at least joking about pushing — to absorb the sovereign nation of Canada, one of America’s closest allies, and more seriously promoting the seizure or purchase of Greenland, which is owned by Denmark, another steadfast US ally and NATO member.
Along with his stated desire to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, Trump’s latest twist in foreign policy would usher in a new era of American imperialism not seen since the late 19th century.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the president-elect even refused to rule outusing military force or economic sanctions to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, arguing the US needed them to stem the influence of Russia and China and to bolster national security.
“It might be that you’ll have to do something,” Trump said in reference to potentially using military or economic force.
And in another move harkening back to the Manifest Destiny ethos of a bygone era, Trump vowed to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” a name he said has a “beautiful ring to it.” The ocean basin that borders five US states to the north and Mexico to the south has carried some version of the Gulf of Mexico name, given to it by Spanish colonisers, since the 1540s.
Foreign leaders in Canada, Denmark and Panama didn’t take kindlyto Trump’s comments, dismissing the idea of ceding their territory and noting their support for the US during its times of need. Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, appeared to joke that her country would start calling the United States “Mexican America” based on an old Mexican map of North America.
On Capitol Hill, most Republican lawmakers didn’t seem to be taking Trump’s comments seriously even as they agreed with him that the US had an interest in acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“I don’t really want to invade Denmark, but I think it’s hard to deny that Greenland would be a really nice strategic piece of property,” Senator Kevin Cramer said, before adding that “a military invasion would be a diplomatic disaster.”
Asked about the negative reaction within Canada to Trump’s comments, Senator John Hoeven said he loved the US neighbour, adding that he is “open to whatever we can work out with our friends in Canada.”
“I hope they don’t take offence. They are our closest ally,” the senator, whose state borders Canada, noted to HuffPost.
Senator Cynthia Lummis said she didn’t think Trump’s ideas were “frivolous.” However, the senator said she would personally be focused on fighting inflation, fixing the border and cutting spending, referring to them as “the things that voters thought were important during the election.”
In the House, Trump received an enthusiastic endorsement from the Republican majority on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which expressed support for annexing Canada and Greenland by saying on social media that “it’s un-American to be afraid of big dreams.” The committee later deleted the post.
Other Trump allies said they believed his threats were meant to bring countries like Canada to the table during coming negotiations with the Trump administration over trade and immigration.
“He is just setting up a stalking horse to create leverage for trade negotiations,” YourVoice CEO Bill Mitchell wrote in a post online.
On the other side of the aisle, however, Democrats dismissed Trump’s talk of annexing foreign nations as merely a ploy that is intended to distract Americans from his agenda of tax cuts for the wealthy. Trump was set to meet with Republicans at the Capitol later on Wednesday to discuss their strategy for reconciliation, which would pair an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts with steep spending cuts to government programmes.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would go along with Trump’s plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico “only if he first agrees to work with us on an actual plan to lower costs for Americans.”
“That is what the American people want us to focus on first, not on renaming bodies of water,” Schumer added in a floor speech on Wednesday.
Senator Peter Welch made a similar point, dismissing discussion over Trump’s latest outbursts as “déjà vu all over again.”
“Do we chase everything that he says?” Welch asked of Trump. “Do we want to have a caucus position on the ‘Gulf of America’? I’d rather have a caucus position on lower prescription drug prices.”
“You ask me about Greenland today, it maybe Latvia tomorrow. Who knows?” he added.
