Carter Scott ‘26, Entertainment Editor
During a conference at the Mar-a-lago in Florida, reporters had many questions regarding what Donald Trump’s plans and policies would be for his upcoming term. Even before his inauguration, the president-elect has expressed his interest in the expansion of U.S. territory.
The Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada are all pieces of land in which Trump has shown interest. When asked if we could be assured that the U.S. would not use military coercion to gain control of the territories, Trump said, “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security.” He said later that he would not use military force against Canada, only “economic force.” In response to the threat, the former Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said afterward on X: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.” Similarly to Canada’s protest towards joining the States, Greenland and the Panama Canal have both shown disinterest in becoming a part of the U.S..
Trump’s interest is fueled by Greenland’s large amount of resources that would put us ahead in the geopolitical race for economic dominance. Along with the resources, having a military base in Europe would be extremely useful to the U.S. for future military operations. In response to Trump’s claims, Greenland’s Finance Minister Erik Jensen said, “Our wish is to become independent one day. But our ambition is not to go from being governed by one country to another.”
Trump’s interest in the Panama Canal comes from his accusation of Panama allowing Chinese soldiers to control the vital shipping route, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He has also claimed Panama charges U.S. vessels “exorbitant prices,” and warned that if they are not reduced after he takes office next month, he will demand that the United States be granted control of the canal. In response, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, the administrator of the Panama Canal, stated, “Rules are rules and there are no exceptions. We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else. This will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos.”
Although increasing our resources and having easy access to Europe might sound enticing, we have to ask ourselves: is it worth the possible bloodshed? Despite the possible international conflict, it seems like Trump is persistent about following through with these specific plans for his upcoming term.
Lyon Life 