CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump appears to be contemplating an American territorial expansion that, if serious, would rival the Louisiana Purchase or the deal that wrested Alaska from Russia.
Last week, he taunted Canadian officials by suggesting that the United States could absorb its northern neighbor and make it the 51st state. He threatened to seize the Panama Canal, the American waterway controlled for a quarter century by his Central American namesake. And on Sunday, he resurfaced his first-term desire to obtain Greenland, a Danish territory he has long coveted.
With Trump, the differences between serious policy proposals and rhetorical flourishes intended to attract media attention or energize his base are not always clear. At other times, his provocations seemed like the opening salvos in his attempts to make deals.
Indeed, when Trump expressed his threat to take over the Panama Canal this weekend, he did so with one goal for the country to avoid his wrath: lower tariffs on U.S. ships that use the passage to travel between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
“So to those responsible for Panama, please be guided accordingly,” he warned on Sunday during remarks to conservative activists in Arizona.
Yet the suggestions are strikingly similar in that they emphasize expanding the U.S. footprint abroad. And for someone who argued during the campaign that the United States should withdraw from foreign intervention, these ideas echo the 19th century doctrine of Manifest Destiny – a belief in the United States’ divine right to s ‘expand across the continent.
Trump on Sunday evening called ownership of Greenland an “absolute necessity” for “the purposes of national security and freedom around the world.” His speech to seize the Panama Canal – which he described as a “vital national asset” even though the United States has not controlled it for decades – reflected a similarly nationalist agenda that Trump often describes as “ America first.”
Speaking in Arizona over the weekend, Trump also reiterated his intention to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a distinction that could precede the use of military force on Mexican soil. Trump has threatened to drop bombs on fentanyl labs and send special forces to eliminate cartel leaders, an incursion that could violate Mexico’s sovereignty and disrupt relations with the United States’ largest trading partner.
The Trump transition team declined to comment on whether these latest statements reflected true ambitions or other motivations, instead referring CNN to its recent comments and social media posts.
Several people close to and involved in Trump’s transition could not identify the origins of his sudden interest in ongoing activities at the Panama Canal, a topic he did not address on the campaign trail. One adviser noted, however, that Trump regularly brings up causes brought to his attention by people ranging from longtime friends to new acquaintances if it excites him. Since winning the election last month, Trump has spent most of his days entertaining close allies, business titans, donors and heads of state at his Palm Beach estate.
Another adviser said concerns about the treatment of U.S. businesses in Panama likely resonated with Trump because “trade is a priority for him.” Pressuring Panama to lower fees on ships that use the canal could also help offset an expected rise in product costs resulting from tariffs Trump intends to impose on foreign products.
“I still take it seriously, even though it might seem a little over the top,” Florida Republican Party Rep. Carlos Gimenez said Monday of Trump’s comments on Fox Business. “This is a legitimate threat to Panama.”
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino issued a lengthy statement in Spanish and English on social media, declaring that port ownership was “non-negotiable.” Built at the turn of the 20th century, the canal was operated by the United States until 1999, when it was ceded entirely to Panama under a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter two decades earlier, which guaranteed American use of the canal in perpetuity.
“I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will continue to do so,” Mulino wrote.
The response, however, did not deter Trump and his allies, who responded with memes and images on social media, doubling down on his latest cause.
“Welcome to the American Canal,” Trump posted on Truth Social, alongside a photo of an American flag flying on the waterway.
Mulino, speaking to CNN en Espanol contributor Andres Oppenheimer for an interview that will air this Sunday, scoffed at Trump’s criticism that Panama is unable to keep the canal functioning. “This is a manifestation of blatant ignorance of history. The canal will celebrate 25 years in Panamanian hands, under Panamanian administration, on December 31,” he said, highlighting the work, including an expansion project, that Panama has carried out since the U.S. have sold it, which, according to him, “leaves losses of several million dollars”. benefits for our national economy.
Trump’s pitch to buy Greenland from Denmark, which he first made during his first term, was also rejected.
The Prime Minister of the Danish autonomous territory, Mute Egede, said on Facebook on Monday: “Greenland is ours” and “we are not for sale and never will be.”
The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen – who called Trump’s first-term suggestion that Greenland could be purchased “absurd” – echoed Egede.
“The government looks forward to working with the new (Trump) administration. In a complex political and security situation like the one we are currently experiencing, transatlantic cooperation is crucial,” said a press release published on Monday. “Regarding the statements on Greenland, the Prime Minister’s Office has no further comments other than referring to what was stated by the Prime Minister of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale, but is open to cooperation,” the statement added.
Trump first discussed the idea privately and confirmed it publicly in 2019, although he ultimately downplayed his interest.
“Strategically, it’s interesting, and we would be interested, but we’ll talk a little bit with them,” he said at the time. “It’s not number one on fire, I can tell you that.”
However, he resurfaced the idea on Sunday in a press release announcing PayPay co-founder Ken Howery as his choice to serve as ambassador to Denmark.
Trump’s proposal to annex Canada seems much less serious and more of a public assault on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the two recently dined at Mar-a-Lago. The president-elect, however, continued to tease the idea on social media.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he wrote in a recent article.
The episode stems from another Trump provocation, this one to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, which illustrates his approach to negotiating with foreign leaders.
In many ways, this strategy produced the desired result: Leaders of both countries immediately sought an audience with Trump to reaffirm their commitment to helping the United States on border issues. And it provided Trump with a first way to claim victory over a foreign target.
“President Trump is securing the border,” his transition team wrote in a recent statement, “and he hasn’t even taken office yet.”