By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH (Worthy News) – U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump has refused to rule out using military force or economic pressure to pursue the acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
He declared U.S. control of both areas vital to American national security, part of what critics called an “expansionist agenda.”
The president-elect also warned the NATO military alliance members that they should spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, a significant increase from the current 2 percent target.
And at a lengthy news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump suggested he impose tariffs on Denmark if it resists his offer to purchase Greenland, which he said is vital to U.S. national security. Shortly before Trump’s comments, his son Don Jr. arrived in Greenland for a “private visit.”
He also seeks to rename the Gulf of Mexico into the “Gulf of America,” though Mexico said it would not support the name change.
Additionally, Trump warned the NATO military alliance members that they should spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, a significant increase from the current 2 percent target.
His most notable potentially earth-shattering comments about the Panama Canal and Greenland came when Trump was asked whether he could assure the world he would not use military or economic coercion as he tries to gain control of both areas. “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two. But I can say this: we need them for economic security,” Trump answered.
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION
Reporters commented that Trump’s intention “marks a rejection of decades of U.S. policy” that has prioritized self-determination over territorial expansion.
“I’m not going to commit to that,” Trump said when asked if he would rule out military use. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country.” He added, “We need Greenland for national security purposes.”
Greenland, home to a large U.S. military base, is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO.
The Panama Canal has been solely controlled by the country for over 25 years. The U.S. returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama in 1979 and ended its joint partnership in managing the strategic waterway in 1999.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected Trump’s plans for Greenland but said she’d continue to welcome American interest and investment, especially in light of Trump Jr.’s visit.
“I, of course, hope that Trump Jr. will have the opportunity to see Greenland and visit the magnificent country,” Frederiksen said in a television interview Tuesday. “But it is also important to hold fast that the future of Greenland is defined by the Greenlanders, not by the rest of us.”
“It is their country that we are talking about here, and it is Greenland that, in my eyes, can determine and define Greenland’s future,” she stressed. Frederiksen still considers the U.S. a valuable ally as Moscow and Beijing increase their cooperation.
AMERICAN INVESTMENT
“I would much rather have American investment and American interest than I want Russian or Chinese,” she said. “On the other hand, I would like to encourage everyone to respect that the Greenlanders are a people; they are a population,” Frederiksen said. “It is their country that is at stake here.”
Trump Jr. arrived Tuesday in Greenland on his father’s “Trump Force One” plane, weeks after he again expressed a desire for the U.S. to gain control of the autonomous Danish territory. The visit comes just a day after Trump suggested the people of the vast region were [Make America Great Again] “MAGA” in a post on social media.
“Just here as tourists,” Trump Jr. told journalists as he walked into the airport in Greenland’s capital city of Nuuk on Tuesday. “We’ve been talking about going for a while. I was actually supposed to be here last spring for some of the stuff I do in my free time, but just really excited to be here. Awesome country.”
He was quickly asked about his father’s desire to make Greenland part of the U.S., but he replied only to say that the soon-to-be second-term president “says hello.”
“We were talking to him yesterday, so he says hello to everyone in Greenland,” said Trump Jr.
Greenland has a population of about 57,000 and is a fully autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has oil, natural gas, and mineral resources, but its economy is reliant on subsidies from Denmark and fishing.
Still, back at Mar-a-Lago, Trump expressed doubt about Denmark’s control of Greenland on Tuesday despite its status as an autonomous territory. “Nobody even knows if they have any right, title, or interest,” Trump said of Denmark and Greenland.
CANADA 51st STATE?
If that wasn’t enough, Trump, a Republican, also floated having Canada join the United States as the 51st state.
However, unlike the people in Panama and Greenland, he had some good news for Canadians, saying Tuesday he would not use military force to invade the country, which is home to more than 40 million people and is a founding NATO partner.
Instead, he said, he would rely on “economic force” to cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada—a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like crude oil and petroleum—as a subsidy that would be ending.
Canadian leaders fired back after earlier dismissing Trump’s rhetoric as a joke. “President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Trump also seeks to rename the Gulf of Mexico into the “Gulf of America” after vowing to revert the name of Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, to Mount McKinley. Former U.S. President Barack Obama changed the name of the Alaskan mountain in deference to Native Americans.
Promising a “Golden age of America,” Trump explained he would move to try to rename the Gulf of Mexico because the “Gulf of America,” as it has a “beautiful ring to it.”
Mexico was quick to dismiss that idea, with Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard saying: “Today I’d tell you if we saw each other in 30 years, the Gulf of Mexico will still be called the Gulf of Mexico,” adding that the Mexican government would not get drawn into the debate.
Yet, with less than two weeks away before his inauguration as America’s 47th president on January 20, the world was put on notice that it won’t be business as usual with Donald J. Trump leading the free world.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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