Donald Trump is sounding more and more serious about wanting to expand the United States’ territory — specifically into Greenland and Panama.
Asked whether he would “assure the world” that he would not “use military or economic coercion” to gain control of land, the president-elect said “no.”
“I can’t assure you on either of those two,” Trump said during a press conference Tuesday of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, and the Panama Canal, which is part of a sovereign nation.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he said. While he added that he’s “not at the stage” to start negotiating a deal, since he’s not yet in office, he appeared to threaten imposing tariffs on Denmark “at a very high level” if the country’s government did not go along with his request.
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Trump’s interest in Greenland dates back to at least 2019, when he made comments about buying Greenland off of Denmark that some initially took as a joke. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said repeatedly that the island is not for sale. But Trump has reiterated his interest in the territory since winning a second term.
Donald Trump Jr. posted a photo with the incoming director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, Sergio Gor, and the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk as they visited the island Monday evening. “Greenland is beautiful!!!” Trump Jr. captioned the photo on X.
Trump has also been floating a take-back of the Panama Canal since December. The U.S. sold control of the canal back to Panama under the Carter administration in the 1970s. Trump mentioned this again Tuesday, saying that Panama has been overcharging the U.S. for shipping and Navy passage through the canal, and that China is “running” it.
“The Panama Canal is under discussion with them right now,” Trump said Tuesday. “China’s running the Panama Canal … Those days are over.”
Trump hasn’t stopped at Greenland and Panama; he has been vocal about his interest in acquiring Canada. Trump has made Canada’s trade and national security relationship with the U.S. a flash point in his talking points. He’s recently taken to calling Canada the “51st state” and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “governor.” Trudeau announced on Monday he would be resigning as leader of the Liberal Party.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st state,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social shortly after Trudeau’s announcement. “If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!”
In Tuesday’s press conference, he said he had talked to the hockey player Wayne Gretzky about running for prime minister. (Or “governor.”)
“Let’s make it governor, I like it better,” Trump said.
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Helen Huiskes is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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