America First Imperialism

Grassroots Preview: Trump Eyes Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal

Donald Trump speaking in August with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally. Photo by Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons License.

This is an advance copy of my next column for the Progressive Populist.

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America First Imperialism

I want to think it’s a joke. An ad-lib. But it wasn’t the first time he said it.

Greenland. The Panama Canal. Canada. Renaming the Gulf of Mexico. Annexation of foreign lands. Military force.

During what The New York Times described as “a rambling, hourlong news conference” in January, then President-elect Donald Trump described Greenland and the Panama Canal as vital to American interests and that they should be in U.S. possession. He also talked about annexing Canada, and refused to rule out military force to achieve his expansionist goals.

“We need them for economic security — the Panama Canal was built for our military,” he said. Asked again if he would rule out the use of military force, he said: “I’m not going to commit to that. You might have to do something.”