Donald Trump hasn’t even stepped into the Oval Office yet and already the world is bracing to deal with his unfathomable megalomania. After undermining Canada’s sovereignty by referring to it as the 51st state, the president-elect is now threatening to retake the Panama Canal and buy Greenland for “national security” reasons, an issue he had previously brought up in 2019, to the obvious derision of the entire world.
Contention and consequent conflict are the bread and butter of political bullies, and Trump happens to be the biggest and most powerful one on the planet. If at first you don’t succeed, just bludgeon them until you do. That is the hallmark of every authoritarian dictator who has ever lived, and though the convicted, twice-impeached president-elect would hide behind the constitution and the votes of the MAGA crowd—who all but see him as the Chosen One, come to deliver the country from the dark cloud of enlightenment and progress—his every inclination from the moment of picking up the mantle is to bully everyone into thinking as he does and doing what he prefers.
What’s worse, Trump doesn’t draw the line at domestic affairs, where he’s already emphasizing to be a bigoted fascist. The orange commander-in-conflict is not even inaugurated yet and he’s butting heads with almost every U.S. friend and ally overseas. From proposing Canada become the “51st state” and its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, become “governor” to taking shots at Panama by threatening to take over the canal again and undermining the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, it looks like there’s nothing this man won’t do to sow chaos around the world.
Now, Trump is dredging up an old ridiculous debate about buying Greenland and annexing it to American soil. If you think that’s insane, just wait until you read what he wrote on his Truth social page recently.
“I am pleased to announce Ken Howery as my choice for United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark,” he wrote. “For reasons of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
It’s strange to think Trump never received the memo during his four years in office, but we don’t talk about the country’s imperialistic policies out loud. Greenland is already a strategically relevant location for NATO for housing a U.S. military base as well as a radar site—made even more important because of the ongoing war in Ukraine—but that doesn’t mean Trump can just propose to take ownership of it on a whim.
That sentiment was echoed by Denmark’s prime minister, who commented on Trump’s words in a written statement. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”
And of course, right on cue, are Trump’s enablers trying to justify his despotic ways.
Is this the peace Trump was talking about during his campaign? Seems to us that he’s picking a fight with literally everyone.
In the vein of these past remarks, MAGA followers have sworn to the ends of the Earth that Trump is simply “joking” in regards to these comments made about other countries and known territories. The cold, hard truth of the matter is that this is going to be a long, long four years, folks. So, perhaps all we can do now is buckle up and hope it isn’t too bumpy of a ride.