It seems that the 47th US President Donald Trump will be fundamentally different from the 45th President Donald Trump, as the newly elected US leader has new ambitions and plans that involve encroachment into new territories. America and the world will face this new Trump after the inauguration, provided that the US president does move from words to action this time. During the last term, he did this not so often. So there is hope that Trump’s imperialist speeches will remain rhetoric that will not materialize. Currently, his statements are causing significant concern in countries that Trump has declared to be strategically important for America.
Trump is back, and so is chaos
During a recent and rather high-profile press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump once again raised the issue of using military means to return the Panama Canal to US control.
A month ago, he unreasonably accused Panama of having the Chinese military control the canal and said the country overcharged American ships.
Trump also said Panama was imposing “far too high tariffs” on American vessels and warned that if prices did not decrease after he took office, he would demand the return of the canal to US control “without hesitation and quickly.”
One wonders why Trump is now so interested in the Panama Canal, even though it is known that among some Republicans there have long been complaints about the deal that gave the canal to Panama. When Ronald Reagan was running for president, he declared that Americans were the “real owners of the canal” and broke into thunderous applause from the electorate by saying:We bought it, we paid for it, we built it“.
The Panamanian government already reacted to Trump’s statements, saying that the sovereignty of their territory is not being discussed.
Biden is to blame for everything, not Putin
Trump, developing his pre-election rhetoric, recently placed responsibility for the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the current administration of the White House. They say that Putin resorted to a full-scale invasion after seeing the “bad” withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Trump also stated that, in his opinion, there was a certain agreement on the refusal to admit Ukraine to NATO, and Joe Biden, as it were, violated it. He admitted that he understands Putin’s feelings about the danger posed by Ukraine as a NATO member and that the West also understands them.
Trump stopped short of repeating his previous promise to end Russia’s war against Ukraine in 24 hours, noting that it is much more difficult than it appears at first glance. However, he expressed the opinion that his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin may take place much earlier than in six months. In his view, a peaceful settlement will take time, but he intends to work on it as efficiently as possible, aiming to achieve results in the coming months.
The newly elected president said that he knows that Putin would like to meet with him, but he does not consider it appropriate to hold such a meeting until January 20, that is, before the inauguration. To a clarifying question from journalists, Trump answered that he expects to make progress in a few months, but hopes that it will happen much earlier.
He also made a number of statements regarding territorial claims, including once again proposing to join the United States as the 51st state of Canada after the current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, steps down. Trump is ready to join Mexico and intends to return control of the Panama Canal to Washington. According to him, this guarantees the country’s economic security.
Greenland – “great again”
Trump also announced his intention to include Greenland in the United States, promising to make the island “great again.” He repeated his claims about the importance of the United States controlling the island, which is an autonomous part of Denmark, and demanded that Denmark sell Greenland to the United States as if it were a medieval deal. In a statement on social media, Trump wrote that for the purposes of national security and freedom around the world, the United States believes that possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. He promised that America would value the people of the island, protect them from external threats and promote the development of their territory. It is clear that this Trump proposal could not but cause lively discussions in the international community, because Greenland is an autonomous province of Denmark with its own self-government, and only defense and foreign policy issues are controlled from Denmark.
It will be recalled that this is not the first time that Trump has shown interest in acquiring Greenland. In 2019, he drew criticism from the Danish government by calling Greenland “strategically important territoryDanish politicians, including Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, called the idea absurd at the time.
Denmark has changed its coat of arms to support Greenland
Recently, the situation took a new turn. King Frederik X of Denmark even decided to change the state coat of arms of the country. Instead of the traditional three crowns that symbolized the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the coat of arms is now decorated with images of a polar bear and a ram. They represent Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark. A statement from the royal family said the move was aimed at strengthening ties between all regions of the commonwealth.
Danish mass media also are reported, that Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Greenland. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the island emphasizes that the visit was of a private nature, and official meetings with local authorities are not foreseen.
Danish national broadcaster DR tells about the meeting of Trump Jr. with the inhabitants of Greenland and the ambiguous perception of his visit. Some took the American unfriendly, but there are also those who called him a hero, stressing that Greenland needs protection from immigrants and war, in which the United States can help. It is indicative that Trump Jr. tried to please the local residents, invited them to dinner, treated them with goodies and distributed caps with the inscription “let’s make America great again.”
Political analysts suggest that reviving discussions around Greenland may be part of Trump’s electoral strategy. Despite Denmark’s indignation, the idea of including Greenland as part of the United States remains popular among some of its voters, who see it as an opportunity to expand America’s influence in the Arctic and increase access to the region’s natural resources.
As reported by the agency Reuters Greenland’s leader plans to meet the Danish king in Copenhagen tomorrow amid US President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he intends to assert control over Greenland, an autonomous territory owned by Denmark.
Tense relations between Greenland and Denmark
Relations between Greenland and Denmark have recently become more complicated due to the revision of historical disputes. Greenlanders express dissatisfaction with the colonial legacy, and Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede openly supports the idea of independence for the island. In his New Year’s address, he called for increased movement in this direction, stressing that Greenland is not for sale. Denmark, in turn, declares that the issue of the island’s future should be decided only by its population.
The topic of Greenland has once again been in the focus of international attention after the statements of former US President Donald Trump about the possibility of acquiring the island. The aggressive rhetoric caused consternation among Danes, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected such claims, stressing that US military intervention in Greenland’s affairs was unlikely. At the same time, she noted that the idea of a trade war with the USA, in particular through the introduction of tariffs, is not a productive way of developing relations. Note that Denmark is home to Novo Nordisk, Europe’s largest company by capitalization. This company produces Wegovy, a popular drug for weight loss in the United States.
Denmark has limited military capabilities in Greenland: a few patrol ships, a surveillance aircraft and traditional dog sleds to control the area.
Despite growing independence aspirations among Greenlanders, Denmark’s King Frederik remains popular in the region thanks to his long-standing ties to local residents. He often visited Greenland, including participating in an expedition to the ice sheet. To emphasize its ties to the island, the royal court even changed its coat of arms, making the image of the polar bear, the symbol of Greenland, larger.
According to experts such as Damien Degeorges of Reykjavik, the king could play a key role in strengthening relations between Denmark and Greenland.
Meanwhile, in Denmark, Trump’s statements cause a negative reaction. For example, engineer Jeppe Finne Sorenson called the idea of buying Greenland ridiculous, stressing that it does not correspond to the spirit of allied relations between the countries.
The one who promised to end, not start, wars lied again
The most frightening thing about the ambitions and plans of Donald Trump is that he does not exclude the options of military intervention to solve the issues of strategically attractive territories. To the question CNN, whether he was willing to use “military or economic coercion” to achieve his goals, the president-elect responded: “No“. However, he added that he cannot guarantee the absence of the use of such options, because these territories are important for the economic security of the country. We will recall that during his victory speech, Trump pathetically declared to a wide audience that he came to end wars, not start them. Obviously, that the readiness to use military force in strategically attractive regions contradicts the peace-making election rhetoric.
If force is used over Greenland, it could be the first major confrontation between NATO members since the conflict between Greece and Turkey. Such a move threatens to split the Alliance and create significant problems for European security.
American analysts explain Trump’s territorial activity as a game against Russia and China. In particular, with regard to the Panama Canal, Trump expressed his claims to the growing Chinese influence in this area. The implementation of these statements could exacerbate the already difficult relations between Washington and Beijing. At the same time, this may force Latin American countries to more actively seek support from China, perceiving it as a guarantor of their security. In this case, the global balance of power may change, and authoritarian regimes, in particular Chinese or Russian, may strengthen their positions, positioning themselves as defenders of the countries of the Global South. All this will take place against the background of the new ambitions of the Trump administration, which many seem harsh, aggressive and even imperialistic.
