First Canada, then the Panama Canal. Today, Donald Trump needs Greenland again.
The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the United States to buy Greenland from Denmark, joining the list of allied countries he is battling even before taking office on Jan. 20.
In an announcement Sunday naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that “for reasons of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that ownership of Greenland is an absolute necessity. »
Trump has plans for Greenland after the president-elect reported over the weekend that the United States could regain the Panama Canal if something is not done to mitigate the emerging transportation prices needed to use the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
He’s also been suggesting that Canada become the 51st U.S. state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said Trump tweaking friendly countries harkens back to an aggressive style he used during his days in business.
“If you ask for something unreasonable, chances are you’ll get something less unreasonable,” said Farnsworth, who is also the author of the e-book “Presidential Communication and Character. “
Greenland, the largest island in the world, is located between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is 80% covered by a sheet of ice and is home to a major US military base. He replaced Denmark in 1979 and its prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, warned that Trump’s new calls for American control would be as absurd as those of his first term.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and never will be,” he said in a statement. “We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom. “
Trump canceled a stopover in Denmark in 2019 after his offer to buy Greenland was rejected in Copenhagen and ultimately failed.
He also warned Sunday that the U. S. is being “scammed” in the Panama Canal.
“If the principles, both ethical and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of donation are respected, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in its entirety, promptly and without a doubt,” he said. .
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded in a video that “every meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to do so,” but Trump responded on his social network: “We’ll see!”
The president-elect also posted a picture of a U.S. flag planted in the canal zone under the phrase, “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
The United States built the canal in the early 1900s but relinquished control to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.
The canal is based on reservoirs that were affected by the droughts of 2023, which forced it to reduce the number of ship passage strips in particular. With fewer ships, directors also increase the fees charged to carriers to reserve spaces to use the canal.
The outbreaks of violence in Greenland and Panama followed Trump’s recent declaration that “Canadians need Canada to be the 51st state” and the delivery of a symbol of himself superimposed on a mountaintop overlooking the territory. surrounding next to a Canadian flag.
Trudeau has hinted that Trump is joking about annexing his country, however, the two recently met at the Trump Club at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to talk about Trump’s threats to impose a 25-cent tariff consistent with all Canadian goods.
“Canada will be part of the United States, but Trump’s comments have more to do with leveraging what he says to extract concessions from Canada by throwing Canada off balance, especially given the precarious political environment in Canada,” Farnsworth said. “Maybe claiming victory over industrial concessions, strengthening borders or other things. “
He said the situation is similar with Greenland.
“What Trump needs is a victory,” Farnsworth said. “And even if the American flag doesn’t fly over Greenland, Europeans will be more susceptible to saying yes to anything else because of the pressure. »
Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.