the Panama Canal and Greenland seen by Donald Trump

Canada, the Panama Canal and now Greenland. What is behind Trump’s expansionist rhetoric?

par Robert Spencer

First, President-elect Donald Trump made negative comments about far-left Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was seeking to become governor of the 51st state of the United States. Then he declared that the Panama Canal should again come under American control. Or the 52nd State. And now, are you ready for a 53rd State?

Last month, Trump renewed a call he made during his first term: the United States should buy Greenland from Denmark. Could this man be serious?

Maybe not. Left-wing propaganda, also known as the mainstream media, loves to portray Trump and his supporters as angry, bitter, and ignorant people who lash out at those who know best what is good for them. Trump has never been known for his sense of humor, despite the fact that he is by far the funniest man to occupy the White House since Ronald Reagan, and might even surpass Gipper.

Trump’s humor goes largely unnoticed. Few have noticed that his new Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE, is reminiscent of the Doge Internet meme that Elon Musk briefly made into Twitter’s logo in 2023. And Trump’s teasing of the “governor” Trudeau went over MSNBC’s head so much that the far-left garbage machine even published an article attributing the joke to Trump’s “confusion.”

In contrast, there was nothing funny about Trump’s statement that the United States should regain control of the Panama Canal. “Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” »Trump asked the crowd at AmericaFest. “ Because we get ripped off at the Panama Canal like we get ripped off everywhere else. »

Trump explained that the Panama Canal “was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions that you have to treat us fairly and they have not treated us fairly.”

“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of generosity are not respected, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in its entirety, quickly and without question. »

Trump hasn’t been very tactful about Greenland either. “ For reasons of national security and freedom around the world”he wrote on December 22, “The United States of America believes that possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. »

This statement received the same reception as during Trump’s first term. The Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute Egede, haughtily declared the following day: “ Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland. We are not for sale and we will not be. » He does not seem to have mentioned that Greenland is not an independent state, but a Danish territory.

But even in floating the idea and making statements about the Panama Canal, Trump became the most openly expansionist president since William McKinley. Is this a matter of personal vanity, as the left claims, or is there more substance to it? The answer is clear: Trump is once again true to his America First beliefs.

The question he asked Trudeau was very specific and remains unanswered: “ So your country can’t survive without stealing $100 billion from the United States? » Trump asked Trudeau this question when the Canadian prime minister complained that the tariffs Trump was threatening to impose if Canada continued to do nothing to control its long border with the United States would destroy Canada. This is where the joke that Canada is the 51st state comes from. In reality, Trump’s sole objective is to protect American interests.

The situation is the same with the Panama Canal. Trump argues that we are not being treated fairly. According to Politico, he “also said he would not let the canal fall into “wrong hands,” warning of possible Chinese influence in Panama.”

As for Greenland, it’s the same story again. Harvard International Review noted in an August 2024 article:

“Although Greenland remains closely linked to Scandinavia as an autonomous region of Denmark, global powers such as the United States, China and Russia are rushing to expand their military and economic influence in the region as it becomes more habitable. »

The problem is this: If the United States does not control the Panama Canal and Greenland, China or Russia probably will, and the consequences could be serious, both for the American economy and for national security. So while the left-wing intelligentsia mocks Trump’s resurgence of the manifest destiny imperative, there is, as is often the case, method to his madness. Trump is playing the great power game at a time when the left wants nothing more than for America to withdraw and let China become the world’s great power. This is yet another reason why leftists hate him so passionately.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is the author of 28 books, including many bestsellers. Spencer has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the FBI, U.S. Central Command, and the U.S. Army Command and Staff.

JForum.fr with www.gatestoneinstitute.org

Pictured: An aerial view of ships passing the Pedro Miguel Locks in the Panama Canal, May 2023. (Photo by iStock/Getty Images)