Donald Trump’s expansionist plans

Opinion

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This article was published 28/12/2024 (281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

He’s not even in the Oval Office yet, but president-elect Donald Trump is making expansionist waves all over the western hemisphere.

Last Sunday, Trump named his pick for the role of ambassador to Denmark. In the announcement, he also announced his designs on taking part of that country, writing that, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Provocation? Joke? Negotiating strategy?

Well, the consensus among many is that it isn’t a joke.

The New York Times wrote on Monday that “Mr. Trump made clear on Sunday that his first-term offer to buy the landmass could, in the coming term, become a deal the Danes cannot refuse.”

Trump’s interested in Greenland because of its mineral potential, especially in rare earth minerals the U.S. needs for everything from electric car batteries to solar power. There’s also strategic importance to waters in the north, as the ice melts due to climate change.

Great. Just great. If an expansionist Russia isn’t a big enough danger to the world order, there might be an expansionist United States as well?

And if Greenland’s not concern enough, the weekend also brought concerns from Trump that the United States is being “ripped off” over fees on the U.S.-built Panama Canal.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous,” he wrote. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.”

The message from Trump? Again, that things be done his way or else.

“It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. You get to treat us fairly, and they haven’t treated us fairly,” Trump said. “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question,” he said.

Panama’s president said that simply isn’t happening on Panamanian territory, but Trump messaged on social media, “We’ll see about that,” and posted a picture of the U.S. flag in the canal zone with the words “Welcome to the United States Canal!”

It is the kind of rhetoric that Vladamir Putin has made in the past to do things like annex Crimea, and no one should forget that Trump’s initial response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was “This is genius.”

We should be paying close attention to Trump’s rhetoric in this country, for a number of reasons. Canada has strategic importance and valuable minerals, including the rare earth minerals that make Greenland so attractive. Especially so because Trump repeated his plans for Panama and Greenland — and also Canada — in his Christmas social media message.

Trump was already on the record — several times — “joking” about Canada becoming the 51^st state.

We also have something else that the United States will need more and more of — fresh water.

During the election, Trump told his followers in California, “So you have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north with the snow caps in Canada and all pouring down. …And they have essentially a very large faucet. And you turn the faucet and it takes one day to turn it. It’s massive.” (There isn’t a giant faucet, but there it is.)

“All of that water goes aimlessly into the Pacific. … And if they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here and right into Los Angeles.”

And we haven’t even touched on the fact that the U.S. wants us to pay to defend their borders for them — or, along with Mexico, face crippling tariffs.

A friendly neighbour indeed.