Annexing Canada as the 51st state.
Buying Greenland as a territory for the United States.
Invading the Panama Canal.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America.”
While this list sounds like it belongs in the 19th century’s Age of Imperialism, these statements are actually the recent ramblings of President-elect Donald Trump at his first press conference.
Held on Jan. 8, the press conference was supposed to overview policies and processes that Trump would instate when he took office. However, despite running with an “America First” campaign, Trump switched his focus to an imperialist agenda.
His recent threats have been thrown at all parts of the Americas, including Panama, Mexico, Canada and Greenland, the worst of which included a threat to invade the Panama Canal. Trump claimed that Panama had been overcharging American vessels, and America’s retaliation should be swift. Quickly after the press conference, Panama’s president Jose Raul Mulino acknowledged Trump’s concerns, explaining that environmental pressures had forced the increase of pricing for all vessels. Recently, Panama has experienced one of the worst droughts in its history due to a combination of El Nino and climate change. Due to these droughts, the lake has extremely low levels of water, forcing Panama’s authorities to reduce shipments through the canal to maintain the lake’s fresh water.
Fees, however, are not Trump’s only concern about the canal. He falsely claimed that “China is running the Panama Canal.” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, quickly denied the statement. It is understandable to be concerned about political enemies, but to claim that another country is in charge of the canal after already mentioning invasion threats seems like a ridiculous form of persuasion.
Yet, Panama is far from the last territory that Trump has set his sights on. As the press conference continued, he named another target for his foreign policy takeover: Greenland. Located above Canada, Greenland is a hotspot for many natural resources, including oil and earth minerals that originate most often from China and Russia. While it is easy to assume Trump’s interest for the territory is due to its minerals, his claim of interest stemmed from a national security standpoint. While the purchase of this land seems like a good idea, there are many things Trump fails to acknowledge. The island is an autonomous territory of Denmark, and while they have their own officials, Denmark continues to oversee foreign policy and they have made it clear that Greenland has never been and will never be for sale. Diplomatically speaking, Denmark and the United States have long enjoyed a mutual allied relationship, so creating tensions between both countries is not a smart choice if his administration is truly focusing on national security.
Accusations of national security also prompted Trump to mock and threaten yet another U.S. ally. As a way to belittle Canada and further his confrontational stance, he criticized the country for failing to secure its borders. Trump then escalated the situation by threatening to impose higher tariffs, a move that could severely damage Canada’s economy.
Trump’s first press conference was meant to address the United States and its national concerns. Instead, he is talking like a modern-day Napoleon and focusing on absurd and impossible goals abroad. Whatever Trump’s true intentions are, the Trump administration should focus and deliver on the “America First” promise they made months ago and focus on helping its citizens first.
