“MMerry Christmas,” Donald Trump posted on the Truth social platform on Christmas Day, along with a photo of himself and his wife Melania. So far it’s traditional. But being the next president of the United States is just getting started.
In another post, President Trump wished everyone a Merry Christmas, “including the great Chinese soldiers who lovingly but illegally operate the Panama Canal.” He mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and claimed that the United States could annex Canada as its 51st province. As a reminder, he addressed “the people of Greenland who are needed by the United States for national security purposes and who desire the presence of the United States.”
If a drunk man were to say this at a Christmas dinner, he might be laughed at or belittled, saying, “Does anyone want dessert?” But President Trump, 78, is less than a month away from gaining access to the nuclear codes and taking command of the world’s most powerful military. No one is sure whether to take him literally, seriously, or both.
The notoriously fickle and capricious man was once said to not play three-dimensional chess, but more often than not he just eats the pieces. There are also suspicions that President Trump is trying to use influence as part of his “bargaining skills,” and that the former reality TV star is grabbing headlines to look strong at home and abroad. There is also.
“This man has been trolling for nearly 80 years,” said Reid Gehlen, president of JoinTheUnion.us, a democratic union. That’s what he did. Because he wants anger. He wants fear and panic as much as he thinks he can cause. Chaos is the coin of his realm and things get out of control. That’s always the case because that’s the only way to control him.
The idea of buying Greenland is not new to President Trump. When he first raised the possibility of buying the vast strategic Danish island during his first term in 2019, it was widely treated as a joke. However, President Trump later canceled his visit to Denmark after opposition from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
President Trump revived that claim over the weekend when nominating his ambassador to Copenhagen, saying that “ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary” to U.S. national security. But Greenland’s Prime Minister Moute Egede received a similar response on Monday, saying the resource-rich island was “not for sale.”
At first glance, it all seems like absurd political theater. But Trump, disruptor in chief, has made it a habit to turn the unthinkable into the inevitable.
Galen said: “We should take him seriously. If he shows up in Copenhagen with a $1 trillion check for Greenland, maybe the Danes will take it.” – I don’t know. But remember, this is a person who has never actually paid for anything in his life, so every time he says, “I want to buy,” it works. That’s not to say. ”
Meanwhile, the president-elect also has his sights set on Panama. He denounced unfair fees for U.S. ships passing through and threatened to demand that control of the Panama Canal be returned to Washington.
President Trump said last Sunday that if Panama does not agree, he will “demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States completely, promptly and without question.” He also hinted at China’s growing influence around the canal, which the United States built in 1914 to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was returned to Panama under the 1977 agreement.
Panama’s President Jose Raúl Mulino dismissed Trump’s threat, saying “every square meter” of the canal would remain in Panamanian hands. President Trump responded on Truth Social: “We’ll see about that!”
As if two diplomatic spats weren’t enough, President Trump has repeatedly teased neighboring Canada that becoming the 51st US state is a “great idea” against the dark backdrop of tariff threats. Ta. He also derisively referred to Prime Minister Trudeau as “the governor.” This is the title used by the top elected official in each of the 50 US states.
Canada is trying to turn the other cheek. In an interview on Politico’s Playbook Deep Dive podcast, Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said: Canada can accept that. As you know, we all have a strong sense of who we are, and we can express that. ”
In fact, during President Trump’s first White House term, he proposed nuking hurricanes to prevent them from making landfall in the United States and injecting bleach to treat the coronavirus. He made many thoughtless statements that were wasted. However, the second time it feels different. Trump, dubbed “America’s Caesar,” appears bolder, more organized, and more intentional.
He now understands where the levers of power and pressure points are and is surrounded by more flexible supporters. His initial approach to Greenland was based on a real estate developer’s instincts, but this time he cited national security concerns, a pitch that is likely to have a bigger resonance on Capitol Hill.
Few experts expect him to declare war on Canada, Denmark, or Panama, but they perceive it as a combination of bluffing and bullying aimed at tipping allies off balance and winning small victories. This harsh treatment stands in stark contrast to Trump’s repeated praise for Russian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seized their own land and invaded Ukraine in 2022.
For some, it is frighteningly reminiscent of the “Great Game” of the 19th century imperialists. Brett Bruen, President Barack Obama’s global engagement director, said, “It’s amazing that in the 21st century, we still talk about world powers attempting to seize territory from other countries through force and coercion.” It’s the right thing to do,” he said. There is the example of President Putin trying to take back Ukraine. There are examples of China attempting to occupy large areas of the South China Sea. ”
Bruen, director of the Global Situation Room, a public affairs agency, added: “Now we have President Trump, who is essentially forcing both Greenland and Panama to give up their territory against their will. It violates fundamental principles of both international and international law,” he added. Stability.
“This opens up a Pandora’s box of crises that will probably never be contained. If Trump can threaten the borders of other countries, he will be able to threaten the borders of (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan (Turkey) and Mohammed bin Salman (Turkey). Saudi Arabia’s leaders will do likewise. ”
Reports of President Trump’s armed attack in Panama and plans for a “soft invasion” of Mexico to target drug cartels through cross-border special forces operations and drone strikes have prompted some Latin American leaders to say the U.S. It may evoke bad memories and cause a backlash from some people. Into China’s embrace.
For example, in 1973, the United States incited a coup against the democratically elected socialist and then-Chilean president Salvador Allende. In 1989, the United States invaded Panama to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega, who was under indictment in the United States on drug trafficking charges. President George H.W. “It’s about ensuring integrity,” he said.
Trump’s sudden expansionism is doubly strange because he has been harshly critical of America’s past failures overseas. He won a series of reprieves during the Vietnam War, railed against George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and boasted that he had not drawn the United States into any new wars during his presidency. His “America First” policy preaches isolationism rather than foreign involvement.
But for Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for Politics and Governance Research at the University of Minnesota, there are echoes of President Richard Nixon’s “madman theory” of embracing irrationality to keep opponents guessing and on the defensive.
“He has made a series of outrageous and impossible threats,” Jacobs said. “Are you going to buy Greenland? That’s not for sale, it’s a sovereign nation, that’s just ridiculous. What he did with Canada is similar chicanery in other countries. The Panama Canal? That’s It’s been decided for decades, but it’s all a tactic in his mind of how to disrupt the status quo and improve the White House’s negotiating position.”
While Joe Biden is rapidly becoming the ghost of Christmas past, Trump will be the ghost of Christmas future for the next four years. Jacobs said, “This is an appetizer before the main course with Mr. Trump. Now he’s president again. It’s about chaos. It’s about unpredictability. It’s the most powerful thing on earth. It’s a story about a kind of crazy approach to the office.”
