Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
LA TimesIcebergs float away as the sun rises near Kulusuk, Greenland. In a Sunday announcement naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that, “For purposes 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.” Trump again having designs on Greenland comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the U.S. could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn’t done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He’s also been suggesting that Canada become the 51st U.S. state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.” Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., said Trump tweaking friendly countries hearkens back to an aggressive style he used during his days in business. Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded in a video that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to,” but Trump fired back on his social media site, “We’ll see about that!” Politics Greenland to Trump: Thanks, but we’re not for sale Following reports that Trump had spoken about the notion of buying Greenland, the semiautonomous Danish territory issued a short statement Friday to clarify it wasn’t on the market. “Canada is not going to become part of the United States, but Trump’s comments are more about leveraging what he says to get concessions from Canada by putting Canada off balance, particularly given the precarious current political environment in Canada,” Farnsworth said.