THE HILL
President-elect Trump has spent parts of the holiday season vowing to take over the Panama Canal, calling for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark and suggesting Canada could become the 51st state.
It all suggests Trump is focused on somehow expanding the U.S. on his watch, though it’s hard to tell how serious it all is.
Some Republicans think Trump is just trolling, while others see a strategic play related to furthering U.S. national security.
“The Panamanian issue is China. They’re dominating the Western Hemisphere economically and financially and we’ve been standing by watching,” a former Trump campaign official said.
Panama has controlled the canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, for nearly 25 years. Trump, in floating the idea the U.S. could take over the canal, complained of “exorbitant prices” and said the U.S. is “being ripped off.”
China has invested heavily in Panama, including in a number of construction deals, and manages two of Panama’s five main ports.
Trump implied in his complaints that countries like China were getting undue influence over the management of the canal. Panama President José Raúl Mulino pushed back on Trump’s claims, noting rates to transit the canal are not decided “on a whim.”
Talk of buying Greenland can also be seen as a national security play.
The Arctic is a key region as the U.S. looks to counter Russia and China, and it’s becoming more contested as melting ice opens up new shipping routes.
Greenland is also rich in natural resources.
Trump in 2019 said buying Greenland, which self-governs but is owned by Denmark, was “strategically” interesting, triggering an angry response from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the time.
In a Truth Social post announcing his pick for ambassador to Denmark last week, Trump declared that U.S. ownership of the island territory “is an absolute necessity.”
Prime Minister Múte Egede pushed back that Greenland “will never be for sale,” and Denmark announced a new package to boost security of the Arctic Island.
“What is he really saying here? Out loud, he’s talking about reinstituting the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S. controlling the Western Hemisphere,” Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said of Trump’s talk of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal together.
The Monroe Doctrine, which was announced by former President Monroe in 1823, prevents the U.S. from engaging or intervening in the political affairs of Europe.
Trump’s repeated jabs at Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau being a U.S. governor does look like trolling on one level.
But Republicans watching on think the president-elect is also trying to win an advantage in trade negotiations.
Trump has vowed to impose a 25 percent tariff on products imported from Canada, as well as Mexico, and has accused both countries of inaction or cross-border drug trafficking and crime.
In a Christmas Day post, Trump called Trudeau “governor” and said the taxes in Canada are “far too high,” claiming if Canada became the 51st state, taxes would be cut. He also suggested hockey great Wayne Gretzky should run for prime minister of Canada, saying the job is “soon to be known as the Governor of Canada.”
Plenty of people in Canada have not seen Trump’s online remarks as amusing…
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