Bold claims

Donald Trump has been infected with delusions of grandeur. Ahead of moving back into the White House on Jan.20 he has called for the US acquisition of the Panama Canal and Denmark’s Greenland by agreement or force, Canada’s accession to the US as its 51st state, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Panamanians, Danes and Green-landers, Canadians and Mexicans have been mystified and angered by his unbalanced challenging statements which are meant to stir up trouble and promote his imperialist “America First” agenda. 

The Panama Canal is an 82-kilometre waterway cut across the Isthmus of Panama and connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean and reduces the time needed to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The US took over the canal project from France in 2004 and completed construction in 2014. Trump has castigated US President Jimmy Carter for handing over the canal to Panama in 1999 and claimed falsely that China is operating the canal and US ships have been charged too much for transit.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenland, an autonomous part of her country, is “not for sale,” but said she would cooperate with the US in providing security for the Arctic. Danish King Frederic has altered his family’s coat of army by increasing the size of the polar bear representing Greenland. A majority of Greenlanders want independence rather than exchanging Danish rule for US domination.

Greenland is host to Pituffik Space Base (also known as Thule Air Base) which is located on the northwest coast of Greenland. It is the northernmost US military installation out of the 750 US bases in 80 countries around the world. Established in 1943, the base provides early warning of missile attacks against North America and conducts space surveillance and control. Greenland is said to have deposits of 31 minerals, including rare earth minerals, lithium and graphite which are used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries.

The presence of these resources has attracted the interest of Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who is a close Trump adviser. Trump operates on the basis of transactional policies which benefit him personally but are not necessarily in the US national interest. Musk contributed $270 million to his and other Republican election campaigns in 2024. Trump stated, “Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dismissed Trump’s call for Canada to join the US as a distraction from his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian US imports unless Ottawa tightens border security. While ruling out military intervention, Trump said he would use economic force to coerce Canada to do what he wants. Trudeau said there was not “a snowball’s chance in hell” that Canada would be part of the US. “Oil and gas and electricity and steel and aluminium and lumber and concrete and everything the American consumers buy from Canada [are] suddenly going to get a lot more expensive if he moves forward on these tariffs,” Trudeau stated.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump by saying that North America should be renamed “América Mexicana,” or “Mexican America,” since a document dating from 1814 preceding Mexico’s constitution adopted those words to refer to its northern neighbour. While she has followed her predecessor by limiting immigration from and through Mexico to the US, she has warned Trump that Mexico would reciprocate with similar tariffs if slaps 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican exports to the US. Misogynist Trump might have under-estimated tough-minded Sheinbaum because she is a woman.

Trump appeared to time his contentious comments to coincide with his sentencing in a New York court on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. The case involved a $130,000 payment to silence a pornographic film actress over a sexual encounter ahead of the 2016 election. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan handed Trump an “unconditional discharge” instead of jail time or a fine. Under New York law this can be used when “no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant’s release.” However, Trump remains a felon and the first US president to be a felon. This being the case, Trump intends to appeal.

Trump did not confine his manic remarks to US friends and neighbours. He has also targeted this region. He has stated that “all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” if Hamas does not free 95 Israeli captives held in Gaza before his inauguration. This threat was issued as talks on a Hamas-Israeli ceasefire in Gaza resumed and appeared to be making progress. However, every time a deal has neared conclusion, Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has forward fresh demands. Hamas has insisted it could not free all captives unless Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza. It is not clear who Trump threatened to bomb. Lebanon has just elected a US-approved president, the US has begun to cultivate ties with Syria’s takfiri regime, Jordan and Iraq are meant to be allies. Yemen could be a consolation target.

Trump’s regional team is unlikely to advise policies meant to cool regional tensions and end conflict. It is headed by golf partner, Steve Witkoff, who served as envoy to the US Jewish community and was a campaign donor. He is a friend and admirer of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The son of Lebanon-born businessman Massad Boulos is married to Trump’s youngest daughter Tiffany. During the election campaign, Boulos acted as Trump’s ambassador to the US-Arab community. He will serve Trump as an advisor. Trump has named ex-Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as his ambassador to Israel. He is an evangelical Christian Zionist who supports Israeli West Bank settlements and annexation. Former Trump administration appointee and businessman Adam Boehler is set to handle hostage affairs. New York congresswoman and strong Israel supporter Elise Stefanik will be US ambassador to the UN where she will be expected to head off criticism of Israel and attempts to sanction Israel for war crimes.

Photo: Reuters